


Gon Freecs X Vampire Hunter:

by MowMowSunshine



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Crossover, Explicit Language, F/M, M/M, Other, Possible Character Death, Vampire!Killua, animator!Gon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-07-12 05:54:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7087906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MowMowSunshine/pseuds/MowMowSunshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He had to pick up the job. The job that the two most notorious associations had flagged and turned down. And six years later, Gon still had more questions than answers. When his chance is suddenly staring him in the face, will he be able to handle the reality?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was done of the HxH Big Bang 2016. It's also my first ever completed writing piece! XDX  
> A lot of the lore and themes came from Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, along with a few character traits. You don't have to know anything about Anita to understand though. A Modern-Fantasy AU, I guess? XD
> 
> So... Let us be off!
> 
> Also, love and many thanks to my best friend and editor, Marius_VII. <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This piece was done of the HxH Big Bang 2016. It's also my first ever completed writing piece! XDX  
> A lot of the lore and themes came from Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, along with a few character traits. You don't have to know anything about Anita to understand though. A Modern-Fantasy AU, I guess? XD
> 
> So... Let us be off!
> 
> Also, love and many thanks to my best friend and editor, Marius_VII. <3

It had been almost a week now. 

A full six days, and dawn was breaking on the seventh.

That was... Gon let his forehead fall onto the table with a crack. He had no idea how many hours six days was, but it felt like thousands. And time kept fucking with him. The days dragged by, seeming to never end, while the nights flew by in the blink of an eye.

One hundred and forty-four hours, only maybe twelve of those spent sleeping. Days consisting of never-ending pots of coffee while hunting around the apartment, searching every nook and cranny for any clues he might have missed. Nights spent searching the complex and surrounding areas, asking questions of anyone he ran into. Yet not a damn thing had come from it. The only clue Gon had was a few broken dishes, a toppled end table, and a few blood splatters on the kitchen's floor.

No one he ran into seemed to know anything, the neighbors hadn’t heard anything, or seen anything odd that night. He couldn’t find traces of anything, anywhere, inside or outside the apartment.  There hadn't been much blood on the floor, but enough for Gon to assume that wound wouldn't just stop bleeding. Even with his hyper acute sense of smell he couldn't find any traces anywhere else.

He folded his arms under the his head and buried his face in the crook of his elbow. The rage had dwindled now, and was boarding on anguish. Tears streaked down his cheeks and his whole body trembled with barely suppressed sobs.

_ 'Where are you? Where the hell are you?' _

 

_ ~~~~~ _

The phone rang, jolting Gon so hard he fell out of the chair he had fallen asleep in. He tried to stand and, caught up in a chair leg, face-planted into the hardwood floor. He gave up trying to stand and crawled on hands and knees to the couch where the wireless phone sat on the arm. He picked up right as the answering machine kicked in. Gon held his breath.

"Gon, it's Leorio. If you're there, pick up."

Gon pushed a button and pressed the phone to his ear. "I'm here, have you found him?" His heart hammered in his chest, and he couldn't help the blind hope that sailed through him.

"Gon...I...I'm..."

"No," he whispered. "No, no, no!" Each word grew in volume, until he was shouting. "He can't be!"

"I'm sorry, Gon. They found him last night."

"They found the wrong man then, you've made a mistake!"

"I sincerely wish we had. But I need you to identify him." Leorio's voice cracked as he sighed. "I'm so sorry, Gon."

But he wasn't listening, and the phone fell from numb fingers. He sat there and stared at nothing, completely numb. Then the pain came, a squeezing in his chest, on his heart, so tight that he could only do one thing.

Kneeling on the floor, arms limp at his sides, he threw his head back and screamed.

 

~~~~~

Kurapika let himself into the apartment. It was eerily quiet, and every light was on. He let the door close behind him, stepping further into the place.

"Gon?" Kurapika peered over the back of the couch, only to find it empty. "Gon?"

"In here." Pushing open the bedroom door, he found Gon sitting with his back to the door, a towel draped over his shoulders. His normally spiked mess of black hair hung listlessly around his head. He paused at the end of the bed, noticing Gon was holding a long-sleeved maroon T-shirt in hands, his thumbs rubbing over the fabric.

"This is all just a bad dream. It has to be. You're supposed to have some control of them, and I wanna wake up." Gon buried his face in the shirt. "Or maybe I'm dead, and this is just my own personal hell." He looked up suddenly, and the deep purple marks under those once bright amber eyes almost made Kurapika cry. There was no gleam in those eyes anymore, either, but a flatness of a living body with no one really home.

"Gon, I-"

"You're sorry, right? Sorry that this happened? Yeah, everyone's so sorry for me, for my loss. I call bullshit. Wear a sad look on your face, say a few empty words, it's so easy. While in the back your mind, you're just happy it wasn't you."

Kurapika couldn't blame the outburst, and it was so very un-Gon like that he couldn't even be angry at the accusations. "He was our friend too, Gon. We might not have been as close as you two, but he still meant something to us."

Gon looked away. "What if it was Leorio?"

"I'd be completely broken. I'm not blaming you, Gon. I know no amount of kind words or apologizes will bring him back."

Gon sighed and set the shirt beside him on the bed. "Wait in the living room, wouldja? I'll get dressed and then we can go.”  
  


It was quiet on the drive. Gon stared sightless out the window, and Kurapika left him to his silence, not knowing what to say. The silence was strained, and for Gon to just leave it that way told Kurapika all he needed to know about where the other man's mind was.

"Do you know where they found him?" His voice was hushed, and monotone.

"About two miles outside of town, in an abandoned warehouse. From what I've heard, he hadn't been there long. Less than a day."

" _ Dammit!"  _ Gon slammed his fist against the dash, making Kurapika jump. It had been a good thing that he was stopped at a light. "Twenty-four fucking hours too late. Too late to save him." His voice broke on the last sentence and he leaned his forehead against the dashboard.

"We did everything we could, Gon. You can't blame yourself. None of us had any more luck than you did."

"I just kept missing something! He always told me that the answers were right in front of me, I was just too blind, too dumb, to see them. And now...now it's too late."

Kurapika sat there and didn't say anything. What could he say? Gon was as stubborn now as he was when he was a child, age hadn't changed that. If anything, it had only gotten worse. Once he had a thought in his head, it wasn't likely that he would ever change his mind. Only one person had ever been able to convince him otherwise, and now...

Kurapika pulled into a spot and killed the engine. Gon leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling for a moment before glancing over at him.

"They won't be able to tell anything until after this, right?" Kurapika nodded.

Gon, still numb and with a ringing in his ears, walked as though he was trying to wade through knee deep muddy water. The walk from the parking lot to the building seemed to take forever, but not nearly long enough. The closer he got, the more his stomach began to twist itself in knots.

Kurapika stood in the middle of the automatic door and looked back at Gon, who was leaning his head and shoulders away from the door, as if he was fighting to step in. When he finally managed to step fully inside the building it was as if whatever was holding him together broke, his entire posture hunched inward. 

_ 'This is all just a dream. He's fine. Just a dream. Nightmare. It's not him.' _

 

Ignorance would have been bliss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question? Comments? Concerns? Let me know! You can follow me on Tumblr (mowmowsunshine) or Twitter (@rahrahchika) too! >=D


	2. Chapter One

Gon took a deep breath and let his head fall back against the brick wall. The bone deep exhaustion was beginning to wear on him.

"You alright?" Kite stood across the alley from him, pulling a door marked "employees only" closed behind him. Gon thought about lying for a moment, but knew he would be seen through.

"Tired." Gon pushed away from the wall, shifting his leather jacket into place. While he would've been warmer with it zipped, he left it hanging open for easy access to either the dagger sheathed at his right hip or the 9mm pistol tucked under his left arm.

"When given the opportunity to sleep-"

"I should take it at a time like this, yes I know." He ignored the sour look from Kite and moved to the mouth the alley. The car was parked in a lot across the street, but he doubted it was time to call it for the night. He checked his watch. Only one a.m. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before letting his hand rest on the back of his neck.

"If you're done being petulant, I might have a clue for us." Kite walked out of the alley and to the right, moving quickly down the sidewalk. Gon fell in step beside him and waited for him to continue. "We'd have to move quickly, and gather a few more of us. If the information I got was correct, then I might have found their sleeping place."

"Did you have a team in mind?" While Gon got along decently well with most of the other Hunters, there were some he didn't see quite eye to eye with on this particular matter.

"Knuckle will be the only one on call right now, but he could probably get a hold of Palm. I'll leave Leorio and Kurapika up to you. It's only one so we have time to kill, but it will give us enough time to run a stakeout and get a good reading on what we're dealing with."

"Alright. Normal meeting place?" Gon pulled his phone from his pocket, and was scrolling through his contacts when something made him pause. A chill caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up, and his fingers were suddenly like ice.

Something was near. Very near.

"Kite." Gon's hand went immediately to the butt of his pistol, and for some reason the first place he looked was up. Damn good thing he did too, as a dagger embedded itself in the ground right where he had been standing.

"Not good. We can't fight here!" Kite took off down the thankfully deserted sidewalk, Gon in hot pursuit. "What was it?" He yelled over his shoulder.

"I couldn't see it clearly, but it was definitely something dead." Gon skidded around a corner, tailing behind Kite as close as he could without being slapped by flying hair. "It didn't seem that old, though. Great aim, though. That would have gone perfectly through the top of my skull."

"And isn't that a lovely image."

"I love how supportive of me you are. And they say no one ever looks up."

"We're vampire _hunters_ , Gon. Yet here I am, running around with you, trying to save one. Who might not be there at all, or who might not appreciate the dramatic invasion. I'm risking a good team on a whim, Gon. Recognize that."

"And don't think I don't appreciate it. I know this isn't protocol, but you knew as soon as-"

"That this was the only reason. But, Gon, you have to realize that this isn't about you. This "kiss", as they liked to be called, is volatile at best and destructive at worst." Kite stopped and looked around before turning and facing Gon. "If he's as close to their master as rumor has it, that's a deep hole we have to jump down. Blind, and under-manned."

Gon stared at him for just a moment. Could he risk all their lives on this?

"It's too late to have second thoughts now, Gon. We have all the information we're going to get at this point. If we don't make use of it now, we might not get an opportunity like this again. Are we doing this, or not?" Kite stood watching him seriously. There was an alcove with a single naked bulb in the wall to his right, casting just enough light for Gon to see his face. He was giving him the choice. Flying solo wasn't an option, though it would be much preferred.

"We are. I haven't spent the last six years of my life getting to this point just to back away now. I have to know. Something. Anything." Gon shoved his hands in his coat pockets and met Kite's eyes squarely. "I will see this through to the end, come hell or high water."

"As I thought you would say." Kite scanned the area around them again. "Odd, we weren't followed."

"We were for a bit, then about a block back they stopped."

"That's probably not good. We might be invading another territory."

"You're the one that brought us here. I was just following orders." Gon glanced around him for a moment, making sure to check along the rooftops. "Although, it does seem too quiet."

"We should get moving anyway. We need to reconvene quickly. We'll circle back to the car, I'll call Knuckle and get him in touch with Palm. Call Kurapika first, keep Leorio on standby. This close to full cycle, I'm not sure how much help he'd be."

"He's pretty calm. I sat with him through it once because Kurapika was on an assignment. Where were we heading in the first place?"

"There's a pretty high up pack member in the apartments another three blocks over. And he's less than three years in. Gon, that was suicide."

Gon only shrugged and followed Kite through the alley. The comment hadn't surprised him, it really had been almost suicide. He chuckled at the memory now.

"It's such an odd thing to watch up close and personal," he mused, more to himself than Kite.

"It gets weirder the closer you are to a person, keep that in mind. I would be careful though. If it gets out about him being a lycanthrope, it could cost him his job." Kite checked the corners and then set off at a brisk pace down the pavement. He pulled out his phone and dialed, presumably Knuckle, and Gon pulled his out again, noticing a message from a number he didn't know.

STOP was all it said. Gon stared for a moment, and hadn't realized he'd stopped walking until he looked up to see Kite a half-block ahead of him. He ignored the message for now, hitting send and putting the phone up to his ear as he trotted to catch up to Kite.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Pika, it's Gon." He fell in stride with Kite, checking around them for the attacker from earlier.

"Hello, Gon. Is everything alright?" Gon could hear shifting about in the background and the muffled groaning of an awakened Leorio.

"Sorry to wake you, but-" Movement to his left drew attention. They were being followed. "Meet at-"

"Gon!" Kite aimed and fired just to the left of his shoulder. Something screamed behind him. In an all too practiced motion, Gon was crouched low, his dagger gripped backward in his left hand.

"We have a lead. Have Leorio on standby. Also, come pick us up at the Spring." He flipped the phone closed and gave all his attention to the attacker. Either Kite had missed or their attacker was extremely fast. They didn't seem slowed in the slightest. So who had screamed? The only light was from across the street, so Gon couldn't make out any features. There was one thing he knew for certain though.

"This isn't the same attacker from earlier. This one isn't dead."

"Not an animal either." Kite hadn't lowered his gun, but he had moved up to stand beside Gon. With Kite relying on his firepower, and Gon on his hand-to-hand, it had taken them some time to figure out a viable fighting strategy. After the third time Leorio had to give Gon stitches for getting himself stuck in crossfire, Kite had given up and taken the position of suppressing fire instead of aggressive, letting Gon be the front runner.

"I may not be dead, but if all goes as planned, you will be by the end of the night." The assailant stopped just outside the spill of light from the streetlamp. While Gon still couldn't see his face, he knew the voice well enough.

"Really, Hisoka? Also, why did you scream?" Gon stood, sheathed his dagger, and slid his pistol from its holster. Gon was a good fighter, but even he wanted to keep his distance from Hisoka. Both idolized and feared within the Association, Hisoka was well known for taking a hit on anything that struck his fancy. While there were factions within the Association, each group having their primary focuses, Hisoka was the true wild card. He had no qualms against anything, and the more difficult the better. And from the first meeting, Hisoka had always had a hard-on for having a draw down with Gon.

"Oh, forgive me. Where you in middle of something pressing? Am I not the only one hunting you?" Hisoka chuckled and shifted so that only his profile was caught in the light. He tapped a finger against his chin. "I guess that only makes it more fun then. Do you want to run? Because please, by all mean, do. It's so much more satisfying when they run."

"We don't have time for this, Gon." Kite shifted his stance so that his gun was muzzling the sidewalk.

"Who has a hit on me?"

"You know I don't have that kind of information. All I care about is the target." Hisoka was twirling a throwing knife between his fingers. Gon tried to think of a way to shimmy out of this. Kite was right, they really didn't have time for any of this. A thought occurred to him.

"I might have a better idea." Hisoka only sneered at him. "I'm actually serious. Suicide mission into a den at sunrise." Hisoka cocked his hip and tapped his foot. Gon would never understand why he wore heeled boots.

"Go on."

"We have whereabouts on where they sleep."

"And?"

Gon thought quickly of some way to talk himself out of this hole. At least they were off the topic of there being a hit on him, because he had his priorities set and stable. “It's...unsanctioned?”

"Where and when? Sounds like a good place to test out one of my new toys." Hisoka gave a cheeky grin as if daring them to ask what it was. Gon really couldn't care less.

"We'll meet at the House at four." Kite answered. Hisoka stood there and watched them for a long moment, his knife rolling between his fingers again. Then, without a word, he turned and vanished into the shadows. Gon stood there for a moment, waiting. When a dagger didn't come flying, he clicked on the safety and holstered his gun.

"We need to hurry. Is Kurapika going to pick us up?" Kite set off again, and Gon checked his phone.

"He's on his way." Gon focused on their surroundings as they walked. Who would have a hit on him? He wasn't anything high in the Association, and his mind couldn't come up with anyone who would have the money to fork over for it.

He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "It's just not been my night."

"Gon?" Kite glanced over his shoulder.

"Yeah?" Gon looked up at him.

"Don't finish that thought. We're in deep enough shit as it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The game's afoot!


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long sections of italics in the next several chapters is flashbacks, just in case. ^^

_It was as if he was in a dream. He was sure that if Kurapika hadn't been leading him, he'd have just stood in the hallway. The few people in halls, mostly staff, seemed to sense something was off and gave them a wide berth. Gon had no idea where they were when they stopped, and couldn't clearly make out what was said between Kurapika and the nurse. It was only when he grabbed his arm that Gon realized they were supposed to be walking again. There was a nurse standing several feet away, waiting for them._

_"He should be at the desk waiting for you. If not he'll be just down the hall to the left in the vending room." She unlocked a door and held it as they walked through, shutting it behind them. The short hallway opened into another station, in which a ragged Leorio sat. His white shirt was wrinkled, his hair in disarray, and he was chugging a cup of coffee like it was liquor._

_Any feeling Gon had vanished when he saw Leorio. Of all of them, Leorio was the most professional when at work. Gon had always teased him that he had a split personality between work and home. But the four of them had become so close over the years, that if Leorio was this frazzled, Gon knew it was far worse than anything he wanted to see. A voice screamed in his head to run, run far away. At least that way the sad, pathetic part of him could hope that maybe he'd just...show up again one day._

_Leorio stood up, and ran his hand through his hair. He motioned them to follow, and Kurapika didn't move until Gon nudged him. "We all go." He nodded and walked beside Gon._

_Gon was only aware of the cold and a smell that smelled like...nothing. Something about the room wasn't right, and Gon couldn't figure out what it was. Leorio stopped in front of the drawer._

_"Gon?" Standing across from Leorio like this, Gon nearly screamed. It was like ripping a Band-Aid off a wound, he wanted it quick and over with._

_The drawer opened on silent wheels, and for a moment Gon didn't see anything but white. The skin was so pale that his hair seemed almost gray. But the arched brows, the high cheek bones, everything was there in front of him. And for once he was glad he couldn't see it._

_His fingers unconsciously brushed over the back of his hand. Gon jerked his hand back as if he'd been shocked. "Something’s not right," he whispered._

_"Gon?" Leorio asked, reaching across for him. He stepped back, shaking his head. That couldn't be right. He'd been so cold. But what had he felt? He was still shaking his head when he bumped into the wall behind him. It was all...too much._

_He sank down the wall, his forehead resting on his knees, arms over his head. "Please," his voice cracked and he couldn't stop the tears. "Please, no more." A metal click and then he felt a hand on his calf. He looked up at Leorio._

_"It's over." He stood and offered Gon a hand. He sat there for moment, staring. Everything was over. He pushed himself up and away from the wall, ignoring both Kurapika and Leorio. He fumbled with the door knob for a moment before letting himself out. Being out of the room didn't help him any, and he glanced around the area for a-_

_There! A neon red exit sign and a flight of stairs. Taking them two at a time, he shoved open the door and stumbled outside. His knees buckled and his stomach heaved. He couldn't breath, his entire body shaking. He retched again, but there was nothing in his stomach. Bile burned the back of throat and he coughed. When the pavement met his face, he was all too grateful for the blackness that ate at the corners of his vision._

Gon unlocked the back door of Spring, an exotic plant shop that doubled as a secondary base on the second floor. Kite followed him in, shutting the door.

"Kurapika will be here any minute, we need to gather what we can from here." Kite made his way to the second floor, Gon trailing a few steps behind him.

"What all do we need?"

"For now just the basics. We'll take stock of what we need after we have a look around." Kite stood and looked at him. "You need to learn from the next few hours. My squad, my commands. If you step out of line on this, it could cost us all.”

"I'm waiting with baited breath to see how Hisoka takes orders." Gon leaned against the door jamb while Kite rummaged in a closet for a moment, pulling out a long black coat.

"Dammit, Gon. This isn't the time to be flippant. Are we clear?" Kite stared hard at him for a long moment. Gon had the utmost respect for Kite, having been his mentor from day one, nor was it that he had no care for the others that would join them, But he just had a bad case of tunnel vision.

"Are you being stubborn again?" Kurapika made his way down the hall toward them.

"No." Kurapika arched a brow at him, and he crossed his arms.

"You have that face." Kurapika looked at him squarely and Gon could see the faintest shift in the color of his eyes. An odd sense of relief eased some of the tension in his shoulders. So he wasn't the only one itching for a fight.

"Morel calls it resting bitch face." Gon grinned, a bit more at ease with someone so familiar around.

"I hear it helps prevent wrinkles." Kurapika chuckled.

"Dunno. How's it working for you, Kite?" Kite flipped them off as he stuffed a flashlight into the bag.

"Gon?" Kurapika tilted his head to the side and turned toward the living area. Gon followed and leaned against the back of one of the couches. "I know how much this means to you. But please, Gon, think before you act tonight. Don't hesitate, but don't play hero. If this works out in your favor then it's another one for the team. If not, what are you planning?"

Gon looked up at the ceiling for a long moment. "I hadn't thought about that side of the coin much."

"I figured as such. I don't want to believe it would happen either, but it's something we need to prepare for, just in case. A lot can happen in six years."

"Ever the realist, aren't you?" Gon sighed and looked at the floor. "But I guess if it does turn out badly, get out. I think we'll know pretty quickly how it'll play out."

"Don't get cocky. This is a new den, a nasty ex-Hunter-turned-master, and above all else, lots of underlings. We've been trying to get a solid bead on this for many months now, and that's outside of your searching." Kite tossed a bag at him, and one to Kurapika. "We knew when they set up home in the city, but we weren't sure of exactly where they coming from, or who they belonged to."

"How were you able to pinpoint it then?" Kurapika set the bag on the floor beside him.

“When the murders began, we didn't recognize the causes.”

“I walked in on an investigation, and saw the pins that missed. The whole case has been pretty hush-hush, but since I knew the murderer, and it suited my cause, Kite brought me in. It wasn't until now that we found an actual point of location for them. Knowing him, he probably kept only a few until recently, and moved constantly.”

“He's always had a flair for the dramatic. I hate to be the one to say this, but this feels like a set-up. I don't trust Hisoka on this. We find their resting place, and Hisoka takes a hit on you? I'm all for going in, but those two have a history of just fucking shit up.” Kurapika leaned back on the couch, his arms crossed.

“That's true enough. I was just tossing out the first thing that I could think of to distract him.” Gon shrugged.

“We'll leave him in the back lines, unless we absolutely need him. He already knows we're going and he'd just follow us anyway.” Kite sighed and paced in front of the couch.

“It can't been that big in numbers, and if my guesses are correct, mostly pretty new. All under fifteen.” Gon thought for a moment. “All we need is to know exactly where they sleep.”

"I need a not shitty team with proper priorities." Kite was agitated, and far more so than Gon had ever seen him.

They stood there and stared at each other. Kurapika reached out and tapped his knuckles on the table. Both men looked at him.

"Gon, just think this through. I'm all for going after him, you know that. But you do need to shift your priorities just a bit. There could be a very dark ending to this."

"No, shut up." Gon pushed away from couch, pacing behind it. "I won't let that happen. He wanted to live, no matter the cost. I know he did."

_He was stuck in the same room for the second time in less than an hour._

_Gon and Kurapika were about half way back to Gon's apartment when Kurapika's phone went off._

_"Wait, what do you mean, 'someone broke in'? You were in the morgue!" He slammed the breaks, almost running a red light. Gon reached over and took the phone from his hand._

_"Turn around. Focus on driving. Leorio?"_

_"Fucking shit, Gon. Does anything normal happen when it involves him?"_

_"What the hell happened?" It was a rare thing for Leorio to completely lose his cool, and something broke through Gon’s emotional haze._

_"Someone just broke into the morgue. That's pretty self explanatory. But oddly enough, guess who's damn body's gone?" Judging by the sound, Leorio had slammed his fist on a desk._

_"The only one?"_

_"No. That's all I can say on that." A chair squealed, and he groaned. "Just get back here, because now statements have to be given." The line went dead and Gon just stared at the screen for a moment._

_"Okay, yeah. This is just took a step past nightmare mode into 'what the actual fuck' territory." Gon flipped the phone closed and set it in a cup holder, watching it like it might grow legs and walk at any moment. "I'm dreaming, dammit. Why would they take his body? Who would take his body?" Gon rubbed the heels of his hands over his eyes._

_"It probably isn't too far a stretch to think his brother did it." They pulled into the lot and saw the flashing blue and red lights reflecting off the white building._

_"I guess not, but I haven't heard anything from that side." Gon paused in thought. This was all just weird now. Leorio was standing outside the emergency room, smoking a cigarette. He had taken off his lab coat, as well as his suit jacket. Everything became a blur from that point on, the questions all becoming one single question._

Who was he?

_Gon stared at the mangled metal drawer that had only shortly before held-_

_"This wasn't done by people." Gon knelt down and stared closely at the twisted metal. Almost immediately, he wished he hadn't said anything out loud. He knew the claw patterns well enough now that he was close enough to actually see them. A nagging tugged at the pit of his stomach, like he was forgetting something incredibly important._

_"Gon?" Kurapika's hand on his shoulder made him look away from the metal._

_"This isn't real, dammit." Gon pointed to the marks, and Kurapika noticed right away._

_"Leorio's right, for once." Kurapika chuckled, "there's always something going on with one of you. What did you two get yourselves into this time?"_

_"Kurapika. This isn't some elaborate prank. He was dead. I felt it. There was nothing there." Leorio stood behind Kurapika, staring at the drawer._

_"I was off duty two hours ago. My night crew is coming in to handle the rest, we're done." He rubbed a hand over his face. "We'll leave a car here, crash at my place because it's closest." Gon stood and glanced around the room. He hadn't even bothered to look at the other drawer yet._

_"Leave it, Gon. Let's go." Gon glanced over his shoulder, and noticed a file tucked under Leorio's arm. Sighing, he could only hope that file contained something...useful. As they left the room, Gon glanced up at the ceiling._

_"What happened to the video feed?"_

_Leorio stopped and turned around, glancing into the corner where Gon was pointing. "Those aren't active. This wing is undergoing construction, and new cameras are being put into this hallway next week."_

_"That one by the stairs isn't active," Gon said, pointing down the hallway, "but this one is. The light wouldn't blink otherwise."_

 

Gon flipped the video panel closed and checked the tape for the second time.

"Remind me again why we need the cameras?" Gon tucked his into his bag and zipped it up. He pushed himself into a sitting position, his shoulders stiff from laying on his stomach too long.

"Because these cameras are equipped with special lenses similar to x-ray. Depending on what the walls are made off, we made to be able to see the layout of the interior in 3-D rather than just the blueprint.” Kite sat up and cracked his neck. “We might also be able to detect a few hot spots where they like to linger.”

“Well that's something.” Gon looked down at the camera in Kite's hand, a slight frown on his face.

"We have little other choice. Some foresight into this is better than none." Kite lead the way down the fire escape on the opposite side of the rooftop. "Hell, maybe we even caught him on camera at some point."

Gon took note of the surroundings as they made their way back to the car parked three blocks over. The entire area made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Even if this wasn't the place, it was a hideout of some sort. Thankfully there had been enough people on the streets that it wasn't too difficult to get close to the building. It was a run-down storehouse that looked like it hadn’t seen business in years, the shops and apartment building surrounding it badly in need of repair. A nest in the middle of a bad neighborhood, it was almost cliche.

"God dammit!" He spun around, gun drawn and aimed at figure that stood at the street corner half a block behind him. It raised a hand and made a throwing motion. With a quick jerk, he caught whatever had been thrown just before it hit him between the eyes. His palm stung from the impact of the thing. Gon opened his fist and his gaze shot back up, but the figure was gone.

"Gon?" Kite looked over his shoulder and into his hand. He picked up the coin and flipped it with his thumb. Gon caught it mid air.

"He's here, Kite. I know he is." He flicked the coin and caught it in his other hand. He stuck his hands behind his back and a moment later held both fists up to Kite. "Where's the coin?"


	4. Chapter Three

Gon sat in the apartment, mindlessly flipping the coin. Kite hadn't taken his word as confirmation, which Gon wasn't particularly surprised by. But Kurapika drew the same conclusion just as instantly as Gon had. Leorio's holler at Kurapika's news only added fuel to his fire.

"It might also give us some better clues as to what we'll be dealing with." Kurapika was setting up his laptop so they could review the videos.

"If Mike is there, I'm not worried. We can just sic Knuckle on him and be fine." Gon leaned over the back of the couch behind Kurapika.

"Is that an insult?" Knuckle leaned against the doorway to the kitchen holding a cup of coffee. "Also, free coffee. Just made the pot."

"Oh, thank god." Kurapika pushed away from the couch and headed straight for the coffee pot, Gon not far behind. "Also, no, Knuckle. It's not an insult. Though I never thought I'd say this, but at least Hisoka is on our side." 

"Hisoka has a side?" Gon accepted the mug that he was offered. "He'd turn traitor if the thought suited him. He may already have.”

"That's the most uninspiring I think I've heard come outta that mouth of yours." Knuckle sipped his coffee and glared at Gon. "Though,It might not be such a bad thing that he's sitting in our back line, since if he is in cahoots with this master, we can keep an eye on him.”

“Fair enough.” Kurapika nodded.

"This better be worth it." He turned and left the kitchen, and Kurapika chuckled behind him.

_ The night was a blur of too much and not information. The ID of the second body didn't help them much, having no ties to him that the three of them could discern. _

_ Gon spent the next week locked in his apartment, most of the time sitting in front of the computer. He wholeheartedly knew that there was a piece missing,if he could only find it.He started in the most obvious place, digging deeply into his family’s databases online.They didn’t try and keep themselves out of the limelight, boasting about the quality of their work.  _

_ Upon further digging a name kept popping up with increasing regularity. _

The Hunter Association.

_ Competitors? The deeper Gon tried to dig up about them, the more questions he had. He was aware of a few of the odd jobs that had been taken, never really prying for information. _

Vampires.

Were-animals.

Demons.

_ There were a variety of other supernaturals mentioned, and those Gon really wanted to write off. But an article caught his attention. It seemed to be a blog entry about a job that had been flagged by both the assassins as well as the Association. But the hit had been taken, and "completed". The tone shifted, and it made jabs at whoever had taken the hit. 'You got what you finally deserved', stuck with him. There had to be something he was missing between the lines. He checked the date the post was made, and his stomach lurched. The date was the third day he had been missing. He reread the page, forcing himself to read slowly, not just skim the page. After the third read-through, he just printed it so that he could mark up the page with notes. His mind was running too fast, and he wasn't able to process much of the information he found. Most of it he wanted to write off as superstition, but some things just appeared too often. _

_ How mixed up in this strange underground had he gotten himself? _

_ 'Six feet.' He thought, and the choked laugh turned into a scream.He wasn’t sure how long he had sat there, but it was long enough for his legs to fall asleep, making walking difficult. He stumbled the first few steps, trying to let his knees buckle under the sharp pins and needles feeling shooting up his calves. He made it to the phone, calling both Kurapika and Leorio. He wouldn't even fight on the fact that either one of them was far more level-headed than he was on his best days. _

_ "I've heard of the Hunters. They're basically licensed bounty hunters. They have access to more intel, weapons, countries, etc... Basically, licensed assassins." Kurapika said after Gon explained. _

_ "I've had to treat two of them, neither one would I ever want to see again, both injured very badly. Badly enough I wasn't sure if they were getting off my table." Leorio sighed, and Gon could imagine him rubbing his nose under his glasses. _  
  


_ "Where would I look to find his file of completed jobs?" Kurapika's question made him pause. He hadn't thought of that. _

_ Gon made his way to the office. "I think they're here, I just need to find the key." _

_ "He didn't tell you where it was?" Leorio seemed to think it was funny. _

_ "He did. But it wasn't something that I handled, like ever. Never needed to. Contrary to what everyone thinks, we each had a life outside of each other." Gon pulled open a desk drawer and found a key ring. "I knew not to ask. If he came to me then I could I could ask questions. I trusted him to tell me what I needed to know." _

_ "Gon...?" _

_ "Kurapika, there's something not right. This whole situation isn't right. I need to know what happened. I can't let this go." _

_ "Gon, we need to go about this carefully. If we act on whim, we might end up the same. If you can find the files, I'll come over and sort them with you. Leorio, there's a few sites and information that only you have access too." _

_ "I'll see what I can find. I might be able access his medical records, which might yield something." _

_ "Two jobs ago he was stabbed in the shoulder. If I can find the files, all that information should be there too." Gon tucked the phone between ear and shoulder, and began to insert keys into the top drawer. There were about twenty keys on the ring, and Gon wondered if all of them had homes. On the tenth try the lock clicked and Gon pulled open the drawer. Gon flipped through a few of the hanging folders, before sliding it shut. _

_ "Drawer number two." _

_ "What was in drawer number one?" Leorio asked. _

_ "Bills, bank statements, that stuff." _

_ The next key on the ring opened the second drawer and- _

_ "Bingo." Gon checked the dates on the first few. "Found the file for the last one, too." Gon set it out on the desk, as well as the one prior. _

_ "Good. I'll be over shortly. On each log, there should be a personal information card, with a picture. To the right of the picture is an IDN, identification number, I need those six digits." Gon read the numbers and wondered what he needed them for. "I'll explain that when I get there, give me about an hour." _

_ Gon hung up and moved out of the office. The sun was beginning to set and he opened the window that looked over the city line. It was almost as if he could feel the press of night forcing the sun under the horizon. Just by the feel and positions, Gon knew it would be dark within the next thirty minutes. It felt like an odd sense of freedom, thinking of the coming night being so close. Because the moon meant freedom. the moon meant life. _

 

_ "GON!"  _ Kurapika snapped his fingers in front of his nose, jolting him to the present.

Gon rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, the moon distracted me."

"We need to comb these videos. Now that Leorio is here, we have a second laptop, so we need to use that our advantage."

Gon nodded and stepped away from the window. "Let's get this party started then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens! XD


	5. Chapter Four

_ Gon rolled over and glanced out the window. The light from the full moon seemed almost blinding. The window was open and the breeze carried the faintest scent of rain. Staring out at the moon, he felt the almost undeniable urge to go... _

_ Go where? _

_ He blinked and found himself already sitting. A chill swept over him and he turned just in time to dodge whatever was coming for the back of his head. He slid off the bed, one hand already searching under the frame. Whatever stood in the doorway was completely blacked out, there was no light from the hall, and the light of the moon fell just short of the figure. _

_ Gon's hand found the 9mm that was tucked away for emergencies. When it been put there, he'd laughed. Now he was exceedingly thankful. _

_ "Who are you?" Despite the pounding in his ears, his voice was steady. _

_ "You will either come willingly, or I'll just kill you." Gon couldn't risk reaching for either phone, having no idea what he was dealing with. The voice rang familiar but he couldn't place it, he couldn't even identify gender. He had nothing to go on. Or did he? _

_ "Where did you take him?" He wondered if it would be best to keep the gun hidden. _

_ "You mean the one who calls me master?" The laughter was cruel, and fear began to set in, but it was unbridled, and hit him hard enough that he almost screamed. But almost as quickly as it had come, it faded. Though something had taken its place. Gon felt rather than saw the... _ person?  _ It didn't feel entirely real. _

_ The term  _ animated  _ came to mind. He didn't have time to process anything more before the figure darted forward. Gon had enough time to lean back, raise the gun, and blind fire. Before he had time to reorient himself, whatever it was had used the bed as a spring, diving out the open window. Gon sat there for a long moment as the lights began to flicker back to life. He knew he couldn't stay here. That he wouldn't be safe. But he couldn't make himself get off the floor. Two conflicting emotions were fighting for dominance. Should he be happy to know that he was out there somewhere? Or should he be upset that one of his greatest fears had been hinted at? Would it matter, if Gon could find him? _

_ Gon let the gun fall from his fingers and curled his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on them. There was an odd compulsion that he couldn't understand. He had the drive to walk in a graveyard. Instead he reached an arm out blindly and groped the bedside table until his finger curled over his cell phone. _

_ "Kurapika. I know you dabble in this stuff for specific reasons, but I might need help. Something not entirely human was just in my house. What the fuck is going on?"  _

" _ Gon, how do you know it wasn't human?" _

_ "I'm not entirely sure. One moment I feel like I'm about to drown, the next I'm feeling it, rather than seeing it. As if I could paint a picture just on how it felt." He reached under the bed and pulled the holster from its hiding spot. He would keep it with him for now.  _

_ "This isn't something any of us can deal with. He got himself mixed in with the wrong side of the night-walkers." _

_ "Night-walkers? You mean you really believe he's a vampire?" _

_ "I use the term as more of a generalization for what are referred as preternatural. But yes, I do believe he has been turned." _

_ "I don't know how to feel about that." _

_ "There's no one way to feel about it." Kurapika paused and sighed. "You're about to tell me that it doesn't matter, I know you are." _

_ "I want to believe it doesn't." Gon paused in buttoning his jeans. "Come pick me up." _

_ "Gon, it's two in the morning. Where are we going?" _

_ "I'm not exactly sure yet. But I feel like if you don't, I'll go mindlessly wandering around." He sat on the edge of the bed and glanced at the moon. _

_ "I'll be there shortly. Though I think it would be better if you stayed with one of us for awhile." _

_ "Probably wouldn't hurt. I'll be ready when you get here, so just let me know. _

_ The drive wasn't long, and Kurapika asked no questions. The circles under his eyes were dark and his normally prim posture was slumped. A realization struck him and made his stomach tighten. _

_ "I'm sorry." He leaned his head against the window, wondering how to put into words exactly what he was apologizing for. _

_ "There's no need to apologize. We've all been stretched thin. I'm happy to help, and this isn't something you can do on your own. I'd rather you pester me to drive you around at the ass crack of dawn than the same happen to you." _

_ "But I can't keep asking you to drop your lives to take care of me. And you make it sound as though you already know what's going to happen." Gon crossed his arms and sighed. _

_ "I know you, Gon. If I'm wrong, tell me, but I don't see you giving this up. And that's not a bad thing, so don't think I'm berating you for it." Kurapika chuckled. "People who live in glass houses can't throw stones." _

_ But Gon wasn't listening, everything being drowned out by a ringing in his ears. "Pull over." He wasn't sure if he shouted or whispered. His vision seemed to be hazy around the edges. But he only had one thing he was focused on, and it was close. As soon as Kurapika put the car in park, he was out and moving. _

_ "Gon!" He ran to keep up. "What's gotten into you?" But he just kept moving. Shaking his head, he looked around them. The moon cast enough light the fact that there were no lights didn't hinder much. The location unsettled him much more. Taking a deep breath, he paused for a moment, allowing himself time to scan the surrounding area. Gon was moving like a bat out of hell, and suddenly he felt whatever it was that Gon had honed in on. When he focused on Gon again, he was several yards in front of him. The dilapidated building looked on the verge of collapse. A sinking feeling settled like a rock in his stomach. He rushed to catch up to Gon before he entered the building.  _

_ "Do you feel anything?" Gon asked as Kurapika stepped up beside him. _

_ "Whatever it is, I don't like it." _

_ "I don't understand. When the need first hit, it was a graveyard. Why did it bring us here?" Gon stopped just outside the door, wondering just how far he was willing to push his luck tonight. But one moment his vision was normal, then it seemed to tint an odd shade of blue. Everything seemed fuzzy, as if he was looking at the room in blue scale, underwater. Blurred figures moved around the space he suddenly saw, and what seemed to be a fight scene on fast forward ended with a being draped in shadows leaning over something on the floor.  _

_ He blinked again and it was all gone. His vision was back to normal, before he'd had the chance to see the face. But if he was to follow his instincts, he was at least seventy percent sure it was the same one who'd broke into him apartment. _

_ "Gon?" Kurapika touched his arm and he jumped. He'd forgotten he wasn't alone. _

_ "It's all so damn weird. I think I know why I was brought here, so I can't give up. I won't." _

_ "Gon, I think you have an affinity with the dead." Kurapika held up a hand. "I'll explain when we're back in the car." Gon frowned but didn't say anything else. He looked back into the building, but nothing moved or changed again. _

_ "I think I'm done here anyway. We can go." He turned away but Kurapika caught his arm. _

_ "What were you after?" _

_ “An image apparently. I’m not sure exactly what I saw, nothing was very clear, but I’m almost positive it’s the same thing that was in my apartment.”  _

_ "More than likely the one who turned him. If I had to guess, he was supposed to be found. But probably sooner than he was." _

_ "If he was supposed to be found, why hide him out in the middle of nowhere?" Gon took a step back and finally looked around them. _

_ "I'm not sure, but whatever that stunt was at the hospital, it caused enough of a stir." Kurapika couldn't find an exact location for whatever he had felt, but it was still there. Gon brushed past him and finally stepped inside. It seemed brighter on the inside then when Gon had first stopped outside, as if his night eyes had been sharpened multiple times. Kurapika followed behind him. "I thought you were done?" _

_ "I was, but there's still something missing." He had picked his way through the rubble, almost at the back of the building. His boot sent a rock skittering across what was once a floor. But Gon noticed something. _

_ He kicked another pebble in the same direction and it made the same sound. He kicked one in the opposite direction and listened. _

_ "The ground has been hollowed out over there." He moved carefully, tapping softly with his toe and straining to hear the difference. _

_ "Possibly a storm shelter." Kurapika grabbed his arm. "We can't tonight, Gon. All we have is your pistol and no knowledge of what's going on." _

_ "I would listen to your friend." They both spun around to face the new voice. Gon's boot sent something sliding across the floor when he turned. A blade he knew. When he had first seen it, he had teased about it being a letter opener. _

_ Kurapika's hand was still on his arm. "We should leave, now." Neither one of them could see the man's face, the light at his back. Gon bent at the knees keeping an eye on the man, deciding caution was best. His fingers closed around the the hilt of the dagger and he slipped it in his pocket. He glanced at Kurapika as he straightened. He'd follow Kurapika's lead for now. _

_ "We'll leave." _

_ "Why are you here?" The man moved off to side allowing them a clear path back to the exit. _

_ "A gut feeling." Gon answered. "What about you?" _

_ "My job. A word to the wise, as you leave. Be wary of moving around at night, you're a walking beacon." _

_ They were at the door now, having done a side step as they passed him to keep an eye on him. _

_ "Are you offering to teach me?" Gon couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice. _

_ "If you were ever to find me again." The man shifted his stance, a hand on his hip. _

_ "Let it go for now, Gon. We need to go." Kurapika pulled at his arm. He followed out the door and Kurapika took off across the lot. Gon gave one backward glance but couldn't discern anything. They arrived back at the car panting, spilling themselves into the seats. _

_ "Should've parked closer." Gon complained. _

_ "If I hadn't parked you would've just tried to get out while I was still driving, so shut up." Kurapika leaned his head back against the seat. "It's going to be a long night, so let's stop at a diner first." _

_ "Alright, coffee sounds amazing right now." _

_ "Agreed." Kurapika put the car in gear, and got them back on the road. _


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Digging deeper into some Anita lore in the next few chapters, let's go!

_ Gon was itching to bombard Kurapika with questions, but he had already agreed to explain so Gon was doing his best to bite his tongue. After food was ordered and coffee dished out and doctored, Kurapika finally spoke. _

_ "What makes the Hunters something special is their ability to use and manipulate their auras. Metaphysics, basically. It comes in different shapes and sizes. Let's take me for example: I was born with some of these talents. Others developed as I got older, and I understood myself better. I have a feeling that you were as well. But others, let’s take some shifters, and vampires,they can be completely normal humans with no innate talents. But being turned obviously changes that." _

_ "I guessing most tend to keep it very tightly under wraps, because until four days ago, I would have laughed at you for bringing up  any of this." Gon stirred a packet of sugar into his coffee. _

_ "You never seemed skeptical when I told you of my Scarlet Eyes." Kurapika pointed out. _

_ "I suppose not, but I guess because I saw it, I had to believe it. You've never brought up much about what you do. You keep a tighter lid on it than anyone." _

_ "That's fair, and the less you know, the more illusive I can be. I wish I could tell you more, but maybe at a later date. I go through the Hunter Association on very few occasions, only when I absolutely have to. I will pull the few strings I have and see what I can do for you." Kurapika propped one elbow up on the back of the booth. _

_ "Thanks. Tell me more about what you think I am. And why you're being so amiable about this. Of the four Leorio is the most uptight about us doing dumb shit, but you don't fall that far under. You swapped sides real quick." Gon laced his fingers and rested his chin on them. Kurapika had him, had him believing. That maybe... _

_ "I felt it, felt the change in you tonight. I'm not sure what triggered it, but either your aura has drastic changed, or you unveiled a dormant talent. I would have said that it was a change if it had happened at the hospital. Besides, like I said before, I'm about seventy percent sure your abilities lie with the dead. As in various types of undead. That's very rarely a learned talent." Kurapika watched him for a moment over the lip of his coffee mug. "I have no idea why it was dormant for so long, but something within the last few hours has removed the veil. It makes me think of higher possibilities: If -and this is a  _ big  _ if- we can get you trained. I haven't dabbled with the animators much, so I can't really teach you much outside of the basics of aura manipulation." _

_ "Who trained you?" _

_ "I was never told his name." Kurapika shrugged. _

_ "What of the man tonight?" _

_ "I never got a good look at him." _

_ "Blue hat, long white hair, tall and slim. Had a katana at his hip." Gon mirrored the way Kurapika sat in booth. _

_ "Impressive, and possibly useful." The waitress walked up, carrying plates of food. "I'll never understand how you can eat for three and retain a shape." _

_ "Natural talent?" Gon grinned. Kurapika chuckled, and pulled out his phone. After a brief moment he flicked it closed, setting it on the table beside him. Both agreed that the conversation could wait until after eating, since Gon had a one track mind with food. The silence, while comfortable, was broken only by the sound of silverware on dishes. _

_ "I will find him." Gon suddenly stated, pausing with a forkful of food halfway to his mouth. "No matter what." _

_ He met Kurapika's eye and Kurapika wondered if Gon's determination could match or exceed his rage. _  
  


Kurapika and Leorio leaned on the back of the couch, Knuckle and Palm on either side of them. Gon and Kite shared the couch in front of the computers. Each monitor had been split so that all four sides of the building could be watched at once. After about five minutes, Gon sighed and dropped his chin to his chest, combing his fingers through his hair.

"I wondered why I didn't feel anything particularly old when I searched. But it seems that it's actually true. If there was something older than ten wandering about, they slipped my notice. I hate this. I hate all of this. I wanted it to be someone else. But he's even more illusive now than before. But this isn't some new kiss from out of town."

"I thought I saw Canary." Leorio leaned closer to the screens.

"You did. I saw a few others."

"Not good. You think it's all the butlers?"

"It's possible, but I doubt it." Kurapika leaned forward. "While we don't know how many butlers they actually have, I can't imagine their master being fine with all of them. But there's a lot about that family I do not understand. Pretty sure we all knew who, but yeah, bastard is sly."

"Had the murders not been so..." Leorio thought for a moment. "Exact? Whatever, the murders gave him away. I vote we nix Hisoka on this one. That or leave him as the last resort. Those two have a nasty history."

"That's already been discussed. He'll be in the back lines unless he is needed. I have a few people to help keep an eye on him." Kite reached forward and fiddled with the keyboard for a moment, zooming in on a particular section. "So there's an underground area, and the staircase in the south facing ally. Look here." He pointed to the two video feeds. “If you watch, you can see where some seem to disappear instead of moving about on the ground floor.”

"That's handy."

"It's also the most useful piece of information we've got to work with." Kite let the videos continue to play. "Now we need figure out what to do about the living ones that they'll have set up around as guards. From everything you three have mentioned, and said, there should be plenty of guards."

"Pretty much everywhere. I did feel a decent amount of living scattered in the building. I have an inkling it's mostly butlers, but they could just be people." Gon leaned his elbows on his knees.

"I'm sure at least a handful of them are bait. Blood donors, if you will."

"That's a nice way of putting it. In other parts of the world, I've heard that vampires are legal, and have the same rights as humans. Here, mind games, kidnapping, murder, it's not  _ fine  _ but we can't put a label on something that wants to stay hidden." Palm pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

"News travels fast around the internet. It won't be too long before we very well might be forced to deal with that same issue." Knuckle commented.

"One of the Hunter's main goals is to keep the underground, underground. If you look at it from a long distance, the implication on humanity is extreme. They would no longer live in the shadows, but walk alongside us, and even if we put restrictions on their powers, with the way fiction portrays vampires, if given the option to say yes and no..."

"There are many people who could be easily tempted into being turned, just being told pretty things." Gon finished the thought.

"Humans could quickly become the minority." Kurapika added.

"Scary thought." Leorio muttered.

Gon stood and stepped away from the couch. He began pacing the living room, he hands behind his back. "There's a good possibility that the staircase leads to resting place. I want to be there waiting at least two hours before dawn. If I can feel them before, I'll be aware when they die."  
  


_ It took them two days to find someone who could help Gon. Had already said he would. _

_ "I should count this against you, since you didn't find me on your own." _

_ "I didn't know any of this was actually real until a week ago, how the hell would I have been able to do that?" Gon crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a tree. The man sighed. _

_ "My name is Kite. While my comment was sarcastic, I will keep my word. You lived longer than I thought you would." Kite extended his hand. _

_ "Gon Freecs." They shook and Gon felt a tingle up his arm. He looked up at the man, and felt something pushing against him in waves. But the man hadn't moved. His power seemed almost alive, almost human, but Gon could feel that edge of something...other. Kurapika had spent the first night training Gon on just the very basics of observation and shielding. Because Gon's power had such a unique flair, Kurapika had thought it to be the utmost of importance for him to be able shield. Gon didn't disagree. Hell, he didn't even agree. He was bombarded by so much information, trying to process it all, to fight with himself over what was reality and what was imaginary. He had finally stopped really caring one way or another. He just...did what Kurapika told him to do. And it seemed to make sense that way.  He wouldn't have been able to explain any of it later, but he'd be able to do it.  _

_ "I was informed of your particular set of skills earlier." The tingle vanished and so did that pulsing power when Kite withdrew his hand. Gon resisted the urge to wipe his hand down his pant leg. "The others who share your talent are on an assignment at the moment, so for now I can show you what I know, and teach you about the underground and what we are as Hunters." _

_ "There's only one reason I'm doing this. Someone dear was taken, and turned. I will find them." _

_ "And do what?" Kite crossed his arms over his chest. _

_ "Get answers. Help if I can. Whatever it takes, I will find them." Gon glared. _

_ "You came seeking help from me. Sort out your priorities, or you will leave with nothing but questions." _

_ Gon stood there for a long moment. He had to do something. Part of him wanted to turn around and walk away, do this on his own. But there was a part of him that was panicking, seeking answers, drowning in questions. About himself. About reality. For the first time since meeting him, he felt a wave doubt for his best friend. Had he really missed so much? Or had there been too many secrets? His chest was tight, and his eyes burned. He had to do everything he could, or die trying. He couldn't live like this. _

_ "I will set this on the backburner to my training, but my personal time is given to that." Gon held out his hand this time. _

_ "If it interferes with your training, I will cut you loose." Kite extended his, and this time when their hand met it wasn't just a tingle of power. Gon felt as if he would burn from the inside out, choking on the sudden heat. He tried to pull away, but Kite's grip on his hand was suddenly like iron and he couldn't move. The heat surrounded him, pressed him from all sides. Suddenly,something clicked inside his head. He could put out this fire himself. He poked at that new power that had awakened. He let the power go, and it seemed to wash over him like a cold shower on a hot day. But Kite wasn't done. His power grew and pushed at the cool water. Gon could practically hear the hiss of steam as the two auras pushed against each other. Gon's defenses began to falter as Kite continued to batter at him. Eventually his body just collapsed to the ground, and he fought to stay conscious. _

_"Impressive." Kite's power had evaporated as he knelt in front_ _of Gon. He had fought up to all fours, but his body kept listing badly to one side or the other. "You held me off quite nicely. And for longer than one with no knowledge should be able to." Kite tipped Gon's chin up, forcing him to look him in the face. "I can help train you because my abilities are based around life. So I can teach through opposites. You'll find my abilities more around the animal base. Shifters and creatures."_

_ "Why was my power dormant?" Gon asked. Kite released his chin and he let his pounding head hang. _

_ "Where did you grow up?" _

_ "Whale Island." _

_ "Even more interesting. The one who trained me was also from there. But that could explain it. Whale Island is much a no-man's land as far as those with special abilities go. Their land is so rich in magic that very few want to visit, and those who do tend to loose their human side after running through the woods. The undead have a hard time dealing with it because it reacts badly to them." Kite sat down cross legged in front of him. "I think that magic affected you." _

_ "I spent most of my time in the forests and exploring. I don't know who my mother was, and my father left me with my aunt when I was a baby. I know next to nothing about him." Gon let himself plop over on his right side. "Why am I so drained?" _

_ "You have no training in your power, or in your aura. Once you learn more you'll be able to do more without wasting energy." Kite propped his elbow on his knee, his chin in his palm. Gon looked up at him sideways. _

_ "What exactly is my power?" _

_ "It would seem you're an animator. You can raise the dead. You've been lucky that your power has been dormant, or you would have been raising everything your power could find until you learned to control it. Thankfully, I know just about every animal that's been buried around here for the past several years, so you don't have much to worry about on that front. And I'm training you before your power starts seeking it's own targets." _

_ "You mean I raise zombies. Like, I bring people back from the dead." Gon's voice was flat. _

_ "Yes. It can be useful in cases of murder or sudden death." Kite stood and brushed his pants off. "In some cases in history, there have been animators powerful enough to control all types of undead, from zombies to master vampires. Those were called necromancers, but they were hunted until the blood died out." _

_ Gon stood on shaky feet, and Kite had to grab his arm when he tried to take his first step, as his knees refused to hold his weight. Eventually Kite led them to a small cabin in a clearing surrounded by tall oak trees. It was surprisingly large inside, with three bedrooms, an office, full bathroom, living room, and a kitchen. Kite sat him down on the sofa and Gon leaned his head against the back, closing his eyes. _

_ Having grown up in forests throughout his childhood, Gon enjoyed Kite's way of training. There was an appreciation for life that Gon hadn't seen in far too long. When six months had gone by, Gon couldn't believe it. His days were so full of different types of training that most nights he barely made it to the bed before his body shut down. After a year, Gon was more than proficient with pistol, rifle, shotgun, daggers, and hand-to-hand combat. _

_ "I'm not training you to be like me. I'm part of the prevention side of things. But no vampire hunter will take a complete newbie." Kite said over dinner one evening. It was one of the rare days off, and Gon had suggested dinner with Kurapika and Leorio before his exam at the end of the week. _

_ "From what I can gather, you seem to know a good chunk of details about vampire hunters." Kurapika pointed out. _

_ "I used to be one." _

_ "What made you quit?" Gon asked. _

_ "I didn't want to leave the Association, but I didn't want to hunt vampires. Some of them were still too human." _

_ "That's actually a little terrifying." Leorio commented. "Are there children vampires too?" _

_ "Rarely, but it has happened. Those I absolutely loath. Forever to be a child. Even most older vampires are against it." _

_ "On a different note, Gon, I'll be joining you in the exam." Leorio grinned. _

_ "Why?" _

_ "Because it could actually help put me through school." Leorio combed his fingers through his hair. "I'm at the point that I need all the help I can get. Besides, maybe the Hunters need a good doctor." _

_ "Well, this might be fun. All three of us could step into this together and walk away with a license." _

_ "Rookies getting it first shot. This should be interesting." Kite grinned. _


	7. Chapter Six

_ And they did it. Three tasks consisting of a timed maze, a tactical stealth mission, and a written portion of aura manipulation. Gon barely skimmed his way into the top twenty, the written portion almost failing him. Leorio managed to scrape by with only two points to spare.. Kurapika was...Kurapika. Over all, he had finished with the fifth highest score, Gon sitting towards the bottom of the middle, Leorio passing by a mere ten points. _

_ They were sitting in a diner, laughing, discussing the exam. Gon nearly choked on his coffee while Leorio talked about his stealth mission. "Why use the box?" He snorted. "I can't believe that worked." _

_ "I mean what else could I have done? I'm not exactly hard to miss if I'm just walking around." Leorio grumbled. _

_ "But crawling around under a cardboard box? How did that even work?" Gon was having a hard time catching his breath. _

_ "What made you bomb the aura part so hard?" He countered. _

_ "I can do it, my body understands what I'm doing, but I don't know really how to explain it on paper. And there were things that I didn't have any clue on." Gon shrugged. He hadn't expected to do well on it anyway. Written exams had never been his forte. _

_ "Hopefully one of the animators will take you under their wing." Kurapika said, smiling. Gon felt himself start to smile back, but all too soon it wilted along the edges. Kurapika tilted his head to the side and Gon stared down into his coffee cup. _

_ "It's been a year and two months." Gon's hands tightened on his coffee mug. "I know we all have different jobs to do, and we each had our own reasons for becoming Hunters..." He paused and cleared his throat. "But please..." _

_ Hands covered his. He looked up, and couldn't fight the tears now. _

_ "We haven't forgotten." Leorio patted his arm. _

_ "We haven't given up." Kurapika squeezed his wrist. He grabbed both of their hands and held on tightly. _

_ "We will find him." _

_ He got a phone call from a man name Wing, three days after the exam, who wanted to meet with him and discuss the prospect of an apprenticeship. Gon got a time and a place, then did some research. For now, Gon and Kurapika had moved in with Leorio, since Kurapika was going to moving to Yorknew once he found a place to live, and Gon had told Kurapika to do something with the apartment. He had never asked what had been done with it. _

_ "Heaven's Arena is a three hour flight from here." Gon checked tickets and called Wing back. Leorio leaned on the back of Gon's chair. _

_ "I would suggest waiting to going to the mountain then. The more training the better." _

_ "I'm closer to you than I thought, sir." Gon found a decent flight. "I can be there at two p.m. tomorrow." Gon wrote down an address, thanked him and hung up. Kurapika walked in with a tray of coffee mugs. _

_ "I'm glad for you, Gon." He handed a steaming mug to him. _

_ Gon took and smiled. "I guess the only thing I can do from here is train and hunt." He chuckled. _

_ "Well, seems like you're in the right profession." Leorio grinned. "I spoke with the college a few towns over, and they have a placement exam in a few months. If I score high enough, I can get a full scholarship. So that's where a lot of my attention will be, but I'm always a phone call away." _

_ "I'm not sure how things will go in Yorknew, but once I get settled I'll be able to keep in better touch." Kurapika tapped his chin. I'll have a second line once I move in that I'll give you two, so that you can use it in emergencies." _

_ Gon looked from one to other. He took a deep breath. He let it out and stood up. He held his fist in front of him. "If we don't see each other before, then we meet at the Yorknew station a year from now. Death being the only reason to not show up." He grinned. _

_ They grinned back and tapped fists to his. _

_ "A year from now, in Yorknew." _

_ As it turned out, Kite had been the one to contact Wing. _

_ "Animators and vampire hunters kinda go hand in hand with each other, for obvious reason. So I'm still updated regularly on those lists." Kite explain. Gon held the phone between cheek and shoulder as he folded clothes. _

_ "At least I won't have to explain myself." _

_ "You still might. Most don't take special cases like yours. Keep your real goal to yourself. You'll make enemies that way. Remember your job description. If Wing clears you, you'll start working with other Hunters. Meaning, you are a no longer a loner and there are other lives at stake." _

_ "A mission is a mission, and during it should be my primary focus." Gon sighed. "My best bet is to train, then take missions. The more familiar I am with them, the easier it will be to start searching for information." _

_ "I can't tell if those two are starting to rub off on you, or you're just telling me what you think I want to hear." _

_ "Maybe both. But I still have dreams. I still have those moments of autopilot." _

_ "I suppose that is a good sign." Kite paused. "Gon? What was he to you?" _

_ Gon had never given up much information about why he was so determined to see this through. _

_ "Childhood friends, later...I guess people would say lovers." Gon leaned his butt against the table and stared off over the city through the bay window. _

_ "I though that or family." Kite sighed. "I won't try and deter you, just be careful. Let me know when Wing gives you the clear and I'll take you on your first real hunt." _

_ Gon couldn't help the grin that crossed his face. "I will. Thank you, Kite." _

_ "Learning from a different type of magic is an interesting way of doing things." Wing commented. "Kite always had an odd way going about teaching people. But he's good at what he does, so I can't fault him for it." They sat outside a small café, and Gon took some time to people watch. _

_ "Kite is better suited to teach you the tactical side of things, and already has, judging by some of your test scores. All you will learn under me is animating. You must do something with your power, or it'll overflow and find it's own prey. If an animator loses control of what they've risen, it could go on a murderous rampage, targeting loved ones first." Wing gave Gon a serious look. "Rouge zombies are damn near impossible to kill, so be sure of what you're doing." _

_ Over the next several weeks, Gon spent his days either sleeping or digging around for information. His nights he spent with Wing, learning about different rituals, sacrifices needed based on how long whatever he was raising had been dead. The better he became at using his abilities, the better his raisings would look, and be able to think. _

_ "You'll need to pack a raising kit and keep it fully stocked at all times. Emergencies can happen where you'll need to be Johnny-on-the-spot to help. Once we step into a graveyard and we've gone through your first raising, I'll be able to put some definite labels on your abilities, and we can learn from there." _

_ Gon's first raising was on a man that had been dead less than two years and hadn't finished his will. So Wing took the job, and Gon got to raise it. Family and lawyers showed up at the graveside shortly after they did and after a brief discussion, Wing gave Gon the go ahead. He had learned that when Wing talked about sacrifices, they weren't quite as forbidding as it sounded. Because Gon was still new, Wing had brought a chicken to use as the blood needed to make a protective circle, as well as bind the zombie to him. It all seemed like too much mysticism to him, but he went through the ritual as Wing had taught him. Dab ointment to the inside of his wrists, and over his heart. Behead the chicken, leave a small circle of blood around the grave, and finish the circle with him on the inside. Next would be to call the zombie from the grave. If he had enough power, the man would answer his call. _

_ The earth gave way like it had liquefied. Gon had seen the process but knowing that this was him calling this man from his grave turned something inside him into a tight knot. He watched as a hand clawed its way up to the surface, soon followed but the rest of the man. He sat on his grave, in his funeral suit, only a little worse for wear. Gon touched the blade, still wet with chicken blood, to the zombies mouth. He couldn't think of this as  once a living being, it was just a thing now. Some part of him was keeping him from seeing this as anything other than dead. He watched as the eyes took on a glint of intelligence. The man was able to answer questions well enough to satisfy both sides, and they were ready to put the man to rest again. _

_ "Am I going back now?" The man asked as he watched the backs of the retreating group. _

_ "Yes." Gon reached down and grabbed a small handful of salt from his bag. _

_ "Good. I'm tired and would like to rest." The man lay flat on his grave. _

_ "Then rest within the earth again." Gon tossed the salt on the man and the grave and watched the grave earth swallow the man and become smooth again. He stared at the grave for a long time, unaware of when Wing stepped up beside him. An owl hooted somewhere near them, and Gon strained to listen. Gon let his power wash through him again, keep it as calm and steady as he could. This was a fairly new graveyard, noting that nothing within fifty feet of him was older than seventy. _

_ "It feels wrong somehow." Gon said after a time. _

_ "Your aura is extremely agitated." Wing had sat down between the graves, watching. Gon looked over at him. _

_ "Why was my ability dormant until it was to late? Could I have been able to save him?" Gon stared at the headstone, not really seeing it. _

_ "Be careful." Wing said, his voice soft. "There are boundaries in which you shouldn't cross. Please remember that your abilities  _ animate the dead. _ It's not the real person, and over time the body would still deteriorate. We are not gods. Do not step outside the limits of what you are capable of." _

_ Gon looked over at him again. Wing wasn't being demeaning, in fact he sounded more like Kite. "How much did Kite tell you?" _

_ "Enough. That's why I haven't urged us out of the graveyard yet. You need to come to terms with a few things here and now, about yourself and your situation. Life and Death are a naturally occurring process. When someone comes back, they tend to lose that spark of their humanity over time, and begins to warp them. It's a good way to judge age, the younger they are, the more human they seem to be. The older ones will give you the feeling 'other'. Your survival instincts are naturally honed, but now you stepped onto a new playing field, and need to play by different rules." _

_ "That's why most animators are vampire hunters. We can get a more definite bead on the target." _

_ "You also tend to have a natural resistance to some of the vampiric powers. Unless they’re masters, one shouldn't be able to roll you with their eyes." Wing shrugged. "It has it's perks, if you remember to use them." He stood and brushed the loose dirt and grass from his pants. _

_ "What are you telling me?" _

_ "That even if you find the vampire you're looking for that you shouldn't let your guard down. The undead tend to go for those they held dear in life, remember. There are many possibilities that could have happened. You'll understand more as you hunt, and raise zombie in different situations." Wing looked around the graveyard for a moment, before looking back at Gon. "You need to always be ready for the absolute worst." _

_ "At least things always seem to turn out better that way." _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The feelers were real, tho. I think the only quartet I love more is the Sanzo Ikkou. XD


	8. Chapter Seven

_"Kite, behind you!" Gon aimed and took the head off a ghoul that had been trying to attach itself to Kite’s back._

_"Thanks, nice shot." Kite turned and stood beside him, gun held down by his side. "This is far more interesting than I thought it was going to be."_

_Gon couldn't keep the grin off his face. "Who'da thought that they'd have guard ghouls." He kicked one squarely in the chest and sent it tumbling into a charging group._

_"Not a common thing, but I don't think that bodes so well for us. Ghouls congregate in graveyards, not around vampires. And where there’s some, there’s a lot more in hiding." Kite popped off two that stepped too close in quick succession._

_"Like an animal to call?"_

_"Pretty much."_

_"That sucks." Gon got a quick triple because they decided to line up. "I guess it could be worse, ghouls are at least vicious. Butterflies could do what, suffocate you?"_

_Kite snorted. "Okay, that would actually be entertaining to watch." Kite looked around them. "We need to get out of the graveyard. The ghouls aren't actually dying, they're just regenerating. We can't put them down fast enough to get to him."_

_"So do we draw him out or retreat?"_

_"You wanna play the game? We plow through these guys. I'll keep them distracted, you find your target. You have an ability that I don't, use it. You should easily be able to pinpoint where he is in the house."_

_Gon nodded and swapped his pistol for a dagger. "I can do it."_

_"The faster the better. I won't be able to fend them off for long. Ready?"_

_"Yes." And they were off. Kite had unsheathed his katana and drove them back and away. Gon took care of the ones after his back, cutting them down before they got close. Kite did a quarter turn to his right and Gon took the clear pathway into the house. He took only a moment to release his power and find his target, on the third floor at the back of the house. Gon withdrew his power and moved quickly up the stairs, drawing the pistol as he came to a corner. He checked the hallway quickly and took off up the second set of stairs. The landing opened with no cover and one of two doors open._

_"I know you're there, Hunter. Why don't you come inside and say hello?" Gon dropped to his knee and aimed at the open door. "No? But it's been such a long time, Gon. Don't you have anything to say to me?"_

_Everything stopped in that moment. Gon was finally able to place the voice and his stomach rolled. There was static in his ears, deafening him completely. His hands began to shake and his chest tightened as fear threatened to drown him. But he knew this fear, had felt this fear many times before. Gon took a deep breath and let it out slowly._

_He was up and running before he completely let his shields down. There was a flicker of doubt as he hit the closed door with his shoulder and tumbled through the doorway, the gun was up and aimed before he had time actually look. He fired three times blind, knowing at least one hit by a sudden scream, and then couldn't move. This close to him, even his abilities couldn't stop the waves of terror. It blinded him and he didn't see the blow coming for his head until it was too late._

A hand touched his shoulder. "What are you thinking about so hard out here by yourself?" Palm stood in front of him.

"I'm sorry, did you need me?" Gon pushed himself up from the railing.

"No, just wondering what your mind could be so lost on that I've been standing here for almost a minute and you haven't seen me." She didn't sound upset, more surprised.

"Remembering things. Once Kite told me we had a location, everything came back. How this all started, how I ended up here." Gon looked down at the ground. "I've done everything I could. But will it be enough? How will this all end?"

"You're kind of our only reason for pursuing this mission, so you need to be sure that this is the right thing to do. "

"My 'right' might not match with someone else's though."

Palm crossed her arms and tapped her foot until Gon looked up at her. "And yet you have a group of people here, some of which you are very dear to, walking into this mess with you."

Gon smiled. "I don't know why."

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not." He chuckled. "I trust you." She smiled and turned back into the house. She glanced back and waved him inside. He shrugged. "Might as well. I need more coffee."

He stepped inside and headed straight for the kitchen. Palm moved off to stand with Knuckle, Kurapika lounging on the sofa. Kite had a laptop pulled up to the end of the table and was sitting in the chair beside the sofa.

"You hunting for coffee?" Leorio asked, standing in front of the coffee pot as Gon walked in.

"You guarding it?"

"Might be." He grinned. "Just waiting for it to finish dripping. I swear Kurapika lives on caffeine and hate."

"I mean, that sounds pretty accurate, actually." Gon leaned his side against the counter. "How do you feel about all this?"

"Come on, Gon. I wouldn't be here if it didn't mean something to me. We never forgot." Leorio looked at him with eyes that were older than the man. "I'm a doctor, I can't help it, so apologies in advance. Gon, don't second guess yourself now. Memories are haunting things, but don't let them hold you back."

"It's been so long now..."

"And you want to toss that all away now? It's right under your nose. Do what you think is best."

"I can't just stand by knowing he's there somewhere, knowing the things I do, haunted by the things I don't. Knowing who is master and wondering why he took that damn job in the first place."

"Only one way to get any type of closure on those issues." Leorio set a mug in front of him.

"What if-"

"Stop." Leorio gave him a hard look. "The 'what ifs' and 'maybes' won't help us now. We'll know when we get there, and then act accordingly. It's what we've been trained to do. What we need from you? To keep your head at least long enough for us to get some kind of handle on the situation." Leorio paused for coffee. "Knuckle and Palm are good at why they do, but the rest of us, we've been here since the beginning."

"We can't turn back now. We've come too far." Gon met his eye, and saw the glint in Leorio's stare. Like Kurapika earlier, he was itching for a fight.

"But, Leorio?" Gon reached out and gripped his friend's arm.

"Nope." He pushed Gon's hand away. "I know that look, don't think I don't. You aren't going anywhere." He grinned and winked. "I've got this."

"I believe." He seemed surprised he meant it. He did believe. He had nothing left to go on, so why not have a little faith that the people risking their lives could carry him through this?

 

"Took us months to get an identity on this bastard, and you two just stumble across him in a graveyard?" Knuckle leaned in the doorway to the kitchen, looking into the living room.

"I had a job. When I raised the zombie, it triggered something on my radar." Gon shrugged. "I guess it was a good thing."

"If you call a shattered cheekbone, dislocated shoulder, and broken collarbone ‘good’." Kite added.

"How did you recover that fast? That was two months ago."

"I've always had a high healing rate, don't ask me why, but I'm not complaining. Thankfully it was my left side that took all the damage."

"If you knew who was keeping him, why not act sooner?"

Gon couldn't fault Knuckle for the game of 20 Questions. "Because I was never certain. It took Kite sharing a case with me for you to find an identity. So what if I have a personal investment in it, I'm the biggest lead you have at this point."

"You may be our only lead, but we don't have to act tonight to fulfill your mission."

"I know. We're counting on each other to do our jobs, and I'm going to do my damnedest to hold up to that."

"Big words, now." Knuckle gave him a long look. Knuckle was an interesting case of looking like thug muscle, and actually just being a kind and gentle guy. But this, this was business, not beer and burgers, talking about dogs.

"You've fought beside me before. All I have to go on at this point is my word. I'll do my best." Gon met his gaze squarely. After a moment, Knuckle nodded and headed into the kitchen. Kite came to stand beside him, leaning on the back of the couch.

"Feel better?" Gon glanced over at him. "I've been watching, and listening."

"I feel worse actually."

"Why?"

"Because he's sentimental and cares about people." Kurapika stood in the kitchen doorway, Leorio behind him.

"We all know Gon. We know that this whole endeavour might end up being one man short." Leorio added, stepping around Kurapika to let Knuckle back in the room.

"This has been my goal from the start. Knowing that people I've grown to trust and care about are-"

"We're completing a mission. There's no need to throw emotions on us. You three can carry that by yourself. This was our mission before it became yours. This is just us doing our job as Hunters."

"So you're treating this as two separate missions?" Kurapika tapped his chin.

"This has to be under the radar. Our job is to neutralize this target, not save one of them. On paper, you just showed up and I have no idea why." Kite looked from one person to the next, ending with Gon. "We never talked."

"Got it."

"Good. It's just after four now. Gon, how long until sunrise?"

"About an hour and a half."

"Then we move out. Gon, Kurapika, the three of us will head to the location so Gon can get set up. The rest will head to the House and gather supplies, then meet us at five thirty." Kite stood and brushed off his pants. “Any questions?”


	9. Chapter Eight

Gon couldn't stop his hands from shaking. There was a part of him that was was trying to claw its way out of his skin, force him into action. He gripped the door handle and the middle console, trying not to scream his frustration.

"Gon, don't destroy the interior of my car." Kurapika pried his fingers off the console, so Gon crossed his arms and gripped the sides of his jacket, the metal teeth of the zipper biting into his palm.

"I would say calm down, but I don't think it would accomplish much at this point." Kite leaned on the back of Kurapika's chair.

"Sitting still was never my forte." Gon bit out. "Dawn is coming. Finally." Closing his eyes, he slowly opened that door inside his mind that let him sense the dead. He forced himself to be calm, to creep. If he just blasted the building, it would alert too them to an enemy presence.

"They are indeed underground. I can only feel them, but they aren't down far. It seems they stick together, but I can't pick out numbers, there's too many." Gon relaxed into the chair. "Once everyone gets here-" Something brushed along his aura with the barest of touches, but Gon shut everything down. Forcing it away so quickly left him a bit lightheaded, like he stood up too fast.

He must have jerked when whatever touched him, because Kurapika had a hand on his arm. "Something touched my power. I cut everything off too quickly." He cracked the window down, letting the cool air hit his face.

"Knuckle is on the way. They'll be here in less than five. Will we be good to move by then?" Kite rummaged around the backseat.

"Yeah, we should be fine." Gon's hand rested on the dagger hilt at his right side. It was never meant for him, but it had become like second nature now. While the gun came in handy more often than not, he never defaulted to it, preferring his own physical finesse. Kurapika fought much the same, but he had more distance if needed. It made Kite the perfect backup.

"Heh," Gon leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. "Even without our individual abilities, we make a decent team."

"Oh, please. You couldn't have a better squad for this." Kite punched his shoulder.

Gon thought for a moment. "True."

A car pulled into the lot on the opposite side. "That should be the others."

"Let the Hunt begin." Gon and Kurapika said in unison.

They met at the mouth of the alley, Knuckle and Palm handing out assorted pieces of equipment.

"Hisoka never showed. Be on guard." Leorio was leaning on a wall, his gaze watching the streets.

"Thanks for the warning." Gon strapped a syringe full of holy water to his forearm. This was not the time to want and not have. He had a custom made silver dagger sheathed down his left boot, a gift from Kite. He had an extra clip in his belt, giving him a total of of twenty-seven shots. He hoped he didn't need anything.

Be prepared for the worst and live to feel silly about it later.

He glanced up at Leorio. "I hope we don't need you."

"Me too, actually." He sighed, glanced between him and Kurapika. "Please be careful." They both reached out and touched Leorio’s arms.

"We will be."

"We need to move. The sooner we're in the sooner we're out." Kite adjusted his hair, and replaced his hat. Now the game was on. Gon took a deep breath. Focus. Focus.

Palm and Leorio moved away, back toward the van they had arrived in. Knuckle took up the midline, Kurapika the tail, with Gon at Kite's back.

"We can only assume that since there's no guards, everyone is downstairs. Which is both good and bad."

"So we don't go in raising hell." Gon said simply.

"If they have guards at the base of the stairs, they'll see us coming. Be ready for anything. Hell, be ready for the stairs to be boobytrapped."

"All things considered, that's probably not a bad warning." Kurapika added. Kite nodded and moved toward the mouth of the alley. There was nothing to be said now, they were going in blind, and not a damn thing was going to change that. Caution was their only friend.

The door opened and Kite took that first step down. A sudden realization hit Gon like a tow truck, forcing his senses into hyper awareness. Kurapika had no coverage, and Kite had blind spots. If they didn't cooperate as a team, none of them would survive. He had screwed himself into a position that if one went down, the likely possibility was that they all would. The ultimate choice.

When push came to shove, would he sacrifice the mission to fulfill his goal? Could he live with their blood on his hands?

He stepped down after Kite, his fingers curling over the butt of his gun. The stairway was slim, two people unable walk side by side. He didn't have enough room to be up close and personal. Instead, he crouched, putting his back along the wall and moved sideways down the stairs. Because of his angle, Gon spotted the light at the base first, grabbing Kite's pant leg. No one moved, and Gon swore no one breathed. Kite took a step back up the stairs and everyone followed, easing themselves about ten steps up.

"There are shifters in the room. What animal and how many I'm not sure. They're alert, and searching. They know we're here." Kite spoke quietly, and everyone huddled close. What was personal space anyway?

"Nothing undead milling about it seems. But something did feel off, like a residue of some kind." Gon sat on the steps, his back to the wall, able to see both up and down the stairs.

"I don't know if the hallway leads straight into the room or if there's some lucky chance that there might be cover. We need picks, but surprise might be our only option. If it comes to that, I'll be on point, Knuckle to my left, Gon, my right." Gon cut him off with a motion. Footsteps coming up the stairs.

"I heard something."

"Everyone's so jumpy tonight. Seems the master is up to no good again."

"That man is the epitome of no good."

Two men, about seven steps below them. Gon could make out their shapes already and they weren't long from being spotted.

"Kite." He already had the pistol aimed and ready, waiting for Kite's signal. But before anyone could move, Knuckle had moved between them and down the steps. Neither guard was prepared to see him and he used that moment to strike them both. They leaned to opposite sides and their bodies just...collapsed.

"They'll be unconscious for a good while if no one comes to find them." Knuckle turned back to them. "We should move while we can."

"I guess that works." Gon stepped up beside Knuckle, looking down at the men. Kite stepped up behind them, and they shifted to either side. "Keeps us hidden a little longer."

"You could have done the same thing." Knuckle fell in step with him as they continued to make their way down again.

"Not nearly as neatly, though." They had reached the point that they could see light again. They found that the staircase opened up into what seemed to be a storage room.

"I think we just got lucky, boys." Gon stood in front of a door at the opposite end of the room. "They didn't shut it all the way."

"This feels very staged..."

"Hush, Kurapika. Maybe Lady Luck is on our side tonight."

"Don't count on it." Kite put his back to the wall and peered through the tiny crack. "Looks like another hallway but no more stairs, at least. Gon." He knelt in front of the door, and Gon stood behind him. Both had guns trained on the door, but Kite would ultimately control how fast the door opened. Gon stayed trained on the expanding hallway, edging to stand more to Kite's side. Only when Gon stood even with Kite in the open doorway did he let his arms drop to his left side and take a deep breath.

The hallway was empty of movement, but at random intervals heavy wooden doors lined the wall as far as they could see. Sounds of varying degrees could be heard behind the doors, and a few banged at the wood. Gon felt Kite stiffen beside him.

"This entire thing just got a little harder."

"Can we exclude the ones making noise?"

"A viable possibility." They stepped inside the room, allowing Knuckle and Kurapika to get a look down the hallway. "Kurapika, Gon, you guys take the right doors. Knuckle and I will take the left. We need to do this as quickly as possible." They split up and Gon turned towards the first door.

It was locked, which came as no surprise to them, but Kurapika was able to pick the lock quickly. There was nothing in the room but a single book shelf and three old books that Gon paid no attention too. Kurapika on the other hand, grabbed them and shoved them in his bag. The second room was much the same, only it's items was a cot and pillow. Gon put his hand on the knob of the next door, and something shivered down his spine.

"I think this one might be warded. I felt something when I touched it." Gon shifted his position so that Kurapika could fiddle with the handle.

"Interesting. Lets hope this has something of use to us. The other doors were just locked, but this one's' warded. The magic is odd, not something I'm very familiar with, but I think I might have a way." Kurapika glanced at Gon, t`hen followed his intense gaze.

There. Directly across the hall from them. Kite and Knuckle stood on either side of the doorway, giving them a clear line of vision into room. Kurapika was on his feet and reaching for Gon, but his hand only closed on open air. Gon had taken a step forward, and paused midway through the next. Everyone knew something big was going to happen, but time seemed frozen. Kurapika was afraid to move, to speak, to do anything.

Tunnel vision didn't even begin to cover what Gon felt. Nothing mattered now. Six years...

Six years... That was the only thought in his head. His feet carried him forward, without him realizing it, and it felt almost like the night he walked into the morgue, nothing but a blur.

Although... Something clicked inside his brain and he was running across the hall, dodging hands that reached for him. There was a high pitch ringing in his ears, someone screaming over and over, as fast as they could draw breath. A single word registered in his brain, made him realize that it was him who was screaming.

_"Killua!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter!
> 
> If you've gotten this far, you're a saint. XD I hope you've enjoyed it so far! These last two chapters are told from Gon's POV, more based from Anita Blake. I also thought it might be a little bit more fun to write.   
> Anyway, lets go!

_Please._

That was the only word going through my mind. I didn't even know what I was asking for at that point. But my feet had carried me to base of what seemed to be an altar. My eyes saw things that my brain either couldn't or refused to process.

He was hanging just a few inches above the stone altar, dark splatters across the top, and for a moment I couldn't force myself to look up.

His arms were above his head, wrapped in what I knew were silver chains. A few were draped down his body, before twining around his ankles. His pale skin only made the striking red of the burns stand out all the more. But what my eyes latched onto was his chest. There was something very wrong with his left shoulder.

"Gon!" A fist wadded into my collar, yanking me sideways. Kite's exceptionally pissed off face filled my vision. I just blinked at him.

"We have to get him down." I tried to pull away but Kite only twisted the fabric tighter and shook me.

"Focus, Gon. Priorities. We know where he is, and from the looks, he's been blood starved. We need to go about waking him very carefully."

"I'm not just going to leave him!" I leaned away and the sound of tearing fabric was loud in my ears. I stumbled and nearly fell, and for a moment Kite just looked surprised. Then I saw something cross his face that I couldn't read.

"You gave your word, Gon." Knuckle was walking toward us, Kurapika not far behind.

I flinched and looked at the floor. "Do I really just walk away?"

"You aren't abandoning him. But if we get the others while they sleep, then we have a clear path out." Kurapika gave me a glare, his eyes a brilliant red. A shiver crept down my spine, it was never fun being on the receiving end of his rage. I knew he was right, but I couldn't fight off the feeling that leaving him was wrong.

I sighed and stood up, adjusting the torn piece of my shirt.

"Ah, but see the thing is, if you kill the master, the ones they created will die as well." As one, our heads snapped to the figure that stood in the doorway. "I've been waiting for you, Gon."

 

He stepped farther into the room, but slithered seemed to be a better word for his movement. He had been a terrifying being while alive: quick, strong, cunning and bloodthirsty. There was no doubt in my mind that he much the same now, with added bonuses.

"I thought you said everyone was out for the day." Knuckle snapped.

"But I knew you were coming, and planned ahead. I have the ability to stay awake much longer than most."

"Of course you do." I heard Kite unsheathe his blade.

He paused in the middle of the room, a hand resting on his cocked hip and flicked his hair over his shoulder. He and Hisoka really did make the perfect pair.

"What's the matter, Gon? You've finally found him after all these years. Where is your righteous fury? Do you have what it actually takes to try and kill me?"

I wanted nothing more than to let myself go, but he was right. The new information gave me pause, but even still I wanted to rip him apart. For all I knew, he was lying.

"He's not lying, Gon. I've heard other rumors." There was a strain in Kite's voice. I glanced at Kurapika and Knuckle, both poised and ready. Everyone was wound tightly, waiting for that perfect moment. I took a deep breath and let it out my nose. Everything had boiled down to this point.

I refused to fuck this up.

"Kite?" I made it a question, wondering if I had pissed him off enough to refuse. He took a step down in front of me, and it was only then that I took in my actual surroundings. We were on a platform about ten feet across, with the stone altar in the middle. In our scuffle, Kite had moved me away from the altar, closer to the three steps. I wasn't sure where the light source was, other than somewhere behind us and the hallway. Kite now stood at the base of the stairs.

My nose twitched, and suddenly all I could smell was...snow? My cheeks tingled as a chill breeze rushed through the room. I heard them then, the tingling of shifting metal. But I couldn't turn around, my body was locked in place.

 _'Gon...'_ Another rush of cold air against my face. My eyes closed and suddenly I was staring at the moon, full and bright, shimmering off fresh snow. I knew this place, knew this feeling of standing in the snow, knew this night.

Oh yeah, I hadn't been alone that night.

_"Aren't you cold?" Something touched my hand, and even in the snow, the touch was icy. I grabbed the hand anyway, turning slowly._

_"No, Killua. No I'm not."_

_I had wanted him to laugh, but he only stared at me, his gaze so blue and serious._

_"What's happening?" I tried to pull him closer, but he wouldn't move._

_"Do you trust me?"_

_It was my turn to stare at him. My hand tightened around his, and I searched his face for a long moment._

_"Can you explain?"_

_"I can try."_

_"Would you live?"_

_"If I give you the first mark, our chances are higher."_

_"Mark?"_

_"One of four that would give us both a little boost in power." We watched each other, and I began to form a question. And part of me hated that I wasn't jumping on board with whatever idea he had. He took both my hands and held them tightly. I drew my focus back to him. "I can see you fighting with yourself, Gon. I don't blame you. I can only hope that what I tell you is enough. I had no idea when I was sending messages they were going to you."_

_"Who were they going to?"_

_"Supposed to be a necromancer. I can explain it all later. Priorities were always your worst thing." He laughed and stepped nose-to-nose with me. "Kiss me, kill him, then we'll talk, deal?"_

_"This feels too easy."_

_"Trust me, none of this is going to be easy. I would love to tell you nothing has changed, but that's just a flat lie. But I do know this, Gon," he tugged on my hand for emphasis. "I still love you. And I need you to trust me."_

_There was a silent plea in his eyes, something true and real. And I felt something inside me finally uncoil. I drew my hands out of his so I could touch his face. He seemed so cold, like a moving ice sculpture. I leaned down and he rose to meet me, his arms sliding up my arms. It was only the barest of touches, but it seemed like it had brushed something deeper inside me, not just my lips._

_"Let me in, Gon." He whispered against my mouth. He kissed me again, but this time it was something more, something far less polite and I echoed it. It was like he was air and I was a drowning man. I crushed him to me, and I could feel how strong he was in the way he held me. I felt him brush against my power again, and this time I let my shields down. His power flowed over me like icy water, startling yet somehow refreshing. I suddenly understood something. The dead, undead, and those who can control them, had a cold power. A sharp pain in my lip made me draw away. He looked at me, and his eyes were startling, like pools of cerulean flame. I felt it then, myself begin to fall under, to be rolled. I closed my eyes against it, instead kissing him again. I felt something trail down my chin and realized that it wasn't just a nick on my lip._

_"Fight, Gon. Fight and win." He stepped away suddenly, and I caught a glimpse of a dark smudge around his mouth. The world seemed to melt around me, and he faded completely from my sight. But I could still feel him, like ghost touches._

I opened my eyes, and everything seemed clearer, the room brighter, but tinted blue. This wasn't my sight, but it was too late to worry about it. Kite was still at the base of the stairs and I wondered how much time had passed while I had be in that other place. I touched my lip and my fingers came away bloody, so it had been real. I needed to use this moment to my absolute advantage. The dagger was in my left hand, and I shifted my weight.

We moved at the same time. Kite rushing him, and I was directly behind him. He stepped right at the last moment, using his blade as an extension of his left arm to try and get a hit as he moved past. It was all the distraction I needed.

A moment before I launched myself at him, I gathered as much of my power as I could and focused it all into my right hand.

 _"Illumi, you're mine!"_ His eyes snapped to me, and he only had a moment to register my aim. I knew him, he should have been able to dodge the hit, but I got him square in the jaw, his head snapping back. I kept my momentum going, throwing all of that power behind the hit. He was airborne and flew a good few feet before righting himself at the last moment to land on hands and feet.

 _"Stay down."_ His hair drifted around him as it settled, black as pitch, a shadow all its own. His body twitched and he forced himself up from his crouch. I fought to make him obey, keep him down. I walked slowly towards him, giving myself up to what Killua needed me to do. There had been moments during fights when my vision would shift and I suddenly had a different perspective of the fight. My body had moved in ways that I couldn't explain, and I rode that power now. He knew Illumi, and I needed that extra sense right now. He continued to fight against me, but my power was spreading out from him. I could feel others, sleeping somewhere near. I felt their bond to Illumi, and noted that only a handful had been created by him. The others weren't bond as strongly, so that was what I was assuming anyway.

I forced that power into those that I could touch, called them to me. The ground shook under me and broke my concentration. Illumi cackled and stood up.

"He thinks binding you to him will save him?" I saw it then, that fire that was his eyes. Only now I could see his power emanating from his body in dark waves, stronger now than the last time I had met him. "Everything that's his is mine!" All pretenses of humanity slipped away then, his face like something out of a nightmare. Skeletal, the skin like paper, thin and translucent. His sunken eyes still blazed with black fire, and for a moment I knew I was going to die with absolute certainty. I saw my death play out through his eyes, and just as I was about to sink under completely, I saw a pair of eyes swimming in the blackness. Brilliant blue balls of flame. I reached for them, and suddenly I could see again. Illumi hadn't completely broken himself from my power, and I could feel others start to wake.

There was a split second before he realized I had broken his control, and my left hand threw the dagger without my mind really thinking about it. He dodged at the last second, but not fast enough. The dagger buried itself in his shoulder and he stopped moving. There had been power I forced into the blade, and I renewed my call.

Illumi screamed in frustration, his bloodlust ranking up a notch. It was all I could do to focus on the link so I didn't drown. His power danced around him like an angry wind, his hair buffeted by the force of it. He lunged at me, and I reached for my syringe.

But he never made it to me. Kite's arm struck out like lightning, catching him the stomach with the blade. Not a killing blow, but enough time for me to draw the gun and aim it. Illumi took a swipe a Kite, only narrowly missing his chest and grazing his arm. When he spun back to me, I was ready. His forehead met the barrel of the gun almost perfectly.

"I can feel them, Illumi. They must not have been very loyal if they answered my call." Hands suddenly grabbed his arms and forced him to his knees. Since these two were less than a year old, I knew Illumi was stronger than both of them.

But then again, he had a silver blade in his shoulder, and his stomach bled freely. Would he heal fast enough to negate this damage?

"Getting tired?" I asked, remembering his comment about being awake later. He hadn't said he could be up all day. I could hopefully use this to my advantage. He fought against the hands that held him, and as I watched him struggle I wondered if I could really pull the trigger.

A scream echoed in my head, shill and pained. I knew that scream, knew it well enough that I had no doubts. It was all me when that gun went off. I felt the links break and there were a few that I could no longer feel at all. But I knew my eyes were still blue fire, and that I could shift my priorities to what I came for.

I looked up as the two let the body fall to the floor. My only thought was that it just looked like mangled meat. Which was better than the alternative.

"Canary." My voice came out a bare whisper. "Gotoh." They started at me, and even though they had answered my call, I could still tell someone was home, they weren't mindless.

"You should be sleeping."

"Yes." Gotoh answered.

"Then go back to sleep." Canary looked at me for a moment, her head tilted slightly to one side.

"Yes, I'd like that."

"Then go. Go back to sleep." After a moment of just watching me their eyes raised past me, then came back to me. They had seen and they were aware. But still they turned and walked away, back out of the room and to where ever it was they slept.

A hand touched my arm and I jumped. Kurapika pointed behind me and I saw Knuckle and Kite lowering Killua from the chains. He was limp and thin, and I rushed to them. How had he not been one of the ones to wake up? But as I looked him over, my fingers couldn't find anywhere to seemed safe to touch. My eyes were still his, and I could see the still healing wounds under the fresh ones. They laid him down at the base of the stairs.

Kurapika stood beside me. "There's a cross burned into his shoulder. It would be best for us to leave it to Leorio." I didn't say anything, only knelt there staring at him. I settled for touching his hair which was past his shoulders now.

"Gon." Kite knelt down beside me. "Take him to Leorio. The three of us will finish here." I looked at him, tried to read his face and tone. Knuckle stepped into my vision on the other side of Killua. I looked up at him, wondering what he was thinking. But he nodded and I felt an odd sense of relief. I took off my jacket and wrapped Killua in it as best I could. Kite added his jacket, and since it was long it covered a lot. When he was secure enough that I could walk outside I lifted him gently off the ground.

I walked out carrying Killua, who was hopefully going to wake up when the sun went down. Leorio met me halfway across the parking lot, adding his jacket to mine.

I sat outside the van while Leorio did what he could. I watched the sky change colors.

Killua had said that things had changed, but that he still loved me. But I remembered seeing the blood from my lip on his mouth, and what it really was that he had become. But he was still Killua. He had always had a bloodlust, now he just needed to satisfy it in different ways. I wanted to just turn a blind eye to everything, to just let things go from here, but I needed answers. Pulling that trigger tonight had broken something inside me, and I think it was that I couldn't think of him as monster. My mind only saw the human he had once been.

"Gon!" Kurapika was running across the lot. I stood and stretched. "We're going to have people stationed here today, so we can talk to those who wake up."

"Once Leorio finishes, let's head back to the House. We can let him sleep in the basement today." Kite walked up us, his upper right arm a bloody mess. Almost the entire right side of his white shirt was an off shade of red.

"That's why you don't wear white." I remarked. Kite looked down at his shirt for a moment.

"Touché."

I couldn't help but grin. Things were at least looking up. Tonight would tell all.


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end, sadly. Though, maybe not?

I woke up just after sundown. I was groggy and lethargic, forcing myself to wake up. I had had long nights and mornings before, but adding in what my mind could still only call magic had drained me. A pounding on my door made me jump. 

"Gon!" Kurapika yelled

"I'm awake," I called then cleared my throat. It was dry and sore, and I couldn't think of why. 

Kurapika flung open my door. "You need to hurry. Killua's awake and blood starved. I need to get Leorio out so he can shift before he loses too much blood." 

I was awake and alert in a moment. I grabbed the black jeans from last night’s excursion and shoved my feet through, ignoring the parts that had dried stiff. I pulled them up and was running to the door still trying to fasten them. After nearly stumbling into Kurapika, we were off and down the the stairs to the first floor. 

I was barefoot and the tile beneath my feet was like ice, and I hurried to the top of the basement stairs at the back room. I didn't think as I took off down those stairs two at a time, and found myself at the base of the stairs in seconds. 

The scene in the basement made me stop. Leorio lay in the far right corner, curled on his side. He looked up at me, and I felt myself release a breath. Kurapika hurried past me and knelt by Leorio. But now my focus on the two in the middle of the room. Kite was using his sheath to keep Killua from tearing out his throat. Fingers turned claws sliced the air just out of reach of Kite's face. 

My first step towards them brought attention to me, and I wasn't sure I liked it. Eyes of drowning blue flame and fangs that seemed too big for his mouth. I only had a moment to brace for the impact as he forgot about Kite and launched himself at me. I dodged the claws but his weight hit me and we stumbled, him riding me to the floor. The back of my head cracked painfully against the bottom step and the room swam. 

I saw it all as if in slow motion, as if I had all the time in the world to either turn my head away or fight him off me. His knees were clamped against my ribs making it hard to draw a proper breath, especially when combined with his weight on my chest. 

I spent too long watching those blue eyes draw closer. The pain was sharp I fought against it, which was a bad idea because he just held on like a dog with a toy. I realized there was nothing I could do. I could feel lines of blood running down my chest. 

I did the only thing I could think of. I wrapped both arms around him, petting his hair. "Killua." I closed my eyes and just held him. 

When I blinked awake again, I was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. I blinked a few more times and let my eyes adjust to the light. 

"Oh, good. You're awake." Kite leaned over my line of vision. 

I tried to speak and found that I had no voice. I tried again and still nothing. 

"You've been out for a day. There was a number done on your neck and shoulder, you had a concussion from your fall, and your wrist was broken." Kite stared at me for a long moment. "You got fucked up." 

I glared up at him. He just grinned. "With your already amped healing, your voice should be back by nightfall." 

I raised an eyebrow. "He's fine. Still in the basement, but whatever you did, it helped. You can talk to him when you wake back up." He reached above my head for a moment. "Congratulations, Gon." He patted my shoulder and walked away. His figure began to swim in my vision and I fought to keep my eyes open. 

"Gon." Someone shook my shoulder and I groaned. I peeled my eyes open and tried to gather my bearings. "You look like me in the mornings." 

I turned my head to the right and there he was, arms crossed on the bed, his chin resting on them. I forced myself to wake up, to shake away the lethargy from the medication Kite had started on drip. I struggled to sit up, my shoulder protesting along with my head and stomach. Hands steadied me and when the room stopped spinning I focused again on Killua. 

"What time is it?" I glanced around the empty hospital room. 

"Just after eleven. I didn't want to wake you up, but I got tired of waiting." He shifted from the chair that he was in to the side of the bed, sitting facing me.

"I thought I was impatient one." I cleared my throat a few times, trying to get rid of the gravel. I was just happy to have my voice back. 

"You're the impulsive one." He looked down at his lap for a moment. I reached out and touched his shoulder.

"Killua?" He flicked his eyes up to me. 

"I don't want to have to explain this twice, so let me get the others." He tried to stand and I caught his arm. He started to pull away and I knew that if he really wanted to, getting out of my grasp would be easy. He turned and glanced at me over his shoulder. He was still so pale, his eyes intense and bright, slender, but muscular and agile. I suddenly wanted to spar with him, to see what limits he had broken for himself. 

"Let us at least talk for a while first? Before we make it a big group thing?" He stared at me for a long moment, and I watched the light in his eyes change. Only then did I realize how much of a come-on that sounded like. I gave him a look and he just gave a Cheshire Cat grin and shrugged his shoulders. 

But he's technically dead now.

The thought made me pause and actually look at him. To remember exactly what he was. Did that really matter to me? 

"You look disturbed." Killua reached out me and I took his hand. The skin was soft and warm and I ran my thumb over his knuckles. 

"Talk to me, Killua. I'm at such a loss. I've been at such a loss since this all started." I swung my legs off the side of the bed, but didn't try to stand. He took my other hand and knelt between my knees. "I saw your corpse, Killua. We all did. When I touched you, there was nothing. I didn't, don't, understand." I couldn't tamp down on my emotions and suddenly it was like a dam breaking. I stood up suddenly, surprising him, and stood over him as he sat on the floor.

"What the hell happened, Killua? Why did you change the file? What didn't you want me to find? Why not at least mention how fucking fishy the last job was! You left me with absolutely nothing, Killua. No hints, clues, nothing. If your projections had gone to someone different, I never would have known. Why did you keep me in the dark for that long?" I stood there staring down at him and I saw it then, something I thought I had gotten rid of a long time ago. His eyes were dark and haunted, almost lifeless. There were pale pink lines tracing down his cheeks, and I knelt in front of him, reaching out to brush a tear from his cheek. "I've tried so hard to understand this, but I can't figure it out. So please Killua...please." 

I fought to keep my voice steady and regain some semblance of control over my emotions. I knew if pushed too hard and tried to force him to talk, it wouldn't get me anywhere. I'd have better luck with a brick wall. 

He sat there and watched me for so long I opened my mouth to say something. His finger on my lips stopped me. He pushed at me with just that single finger and I shifted back, nearly losing my balance. I stood and paced in front of the bed, and he sat there and watched me. 

"It wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't a solo job. But when I arrived, I was on my own, stood up. I was arrogant and it bit me in the ass." He had pulled one knee up and rested his chin on it. "It wasn't until it was over that I was contacted. Illumi told me that the target had been a vampire that I hadn't actually killed, only angered." 

"And that was the set up." 

"Actually, no. Illumi told me that in order to correct my mistake, I had to meet with him. The vampire. Most people aren't aware of the underground, or choose to overlook it. Most still want to believe it's all fairy tales and horror films. But it's real, it's dark, and it's terrifying." 

I knelt down in front of him, his eyes distant. I realized he wasn't really with me, lost in his own memories. 

"He was someone important, a politician from another country. It should have been an easy job. The contact was supposed to give me all of my information. The cover file was what I got originally, the contact had the actual information." 

"The job was flagged by both your family and the Hunters. Maybe not the Hunters, but the fact that you took it with your family's flag makes no sense." 

“Grandpa flagged it as taken actually. He didn't want anyone else taking it because it's good business to be able to complete what the Hunters won't." 

"Why did they flag it?"

"Hunters work in tandem with other countries. They couldn't take it and keep a clean profile. They read between the lines the way the rest of us did." 

"I didn't." I hadn't meant to sound childish, but it still came out that way.

"There's a lot of things I never showed you about what to look for in those files. I kept everything out in the open, I never hid anything from you. At some point I wanted to teach you, but I fought with myself over bringing you into the darker side of what I did.” He sighed and looked away. “There was a lot things in the cover file to give away what the actual hit was.” 

"The bare minimum can be the greatest source of information." I chuckled and settled into the floor, mirroring him. "I've been there." 

"Gon, you've gone through hell." His hand touched my cheek, and I leaned into his palm. "I can see it in your face, there's a shadow under under your eyes." He drew his hand away and I grabbed it. 

"Yeah, the last few years have been kinda shitty. But why did I do it?" I prompted. I wanted to hear the end of the beginning. 

"I didn't know that the man was a vampire. I never really believed in it all, until it was too late. Illumi was already in cahoots with the guy, had already been promised something of worth to bring me to him. The price I had to pay for trying to kill him was my own life, given to Illumi." 

"So Illumi set you up."

"I found out later that he had been promised the loners that wandered his territory with no master." 

"The unidentified vamps in the warehouse." 

"Yeah. Still pisses me off that he nabbed both Canary and Gotoh." He ran a hand through his hair. 

"Do you know who turned him?" 

"No idea. He said that since I was already part monster, that he'd take my humanity and turn me into the monster I should have been. When I was found, I had run away and he came to hunt me down." 

"The abandoned warehouse you showed me." 

"Yes. But someone showed up and Illumi fled without me. You know Illumi loved to bait you, and this gave him the perfect opportunity to destroy you. He came to...fetch me, if you will, from the morgue.” 

"You broke yourself out. That's how I knew you were still alive, I saw the claw marks on the drawer.” 

He gave a cheeky grin. "I wasn't as bad off as I was when I..." His face fell instantly and he looked away. I felt something brush my skin like a breeze. 

"Killua?"

"I almost killed you." 

"And?" 

"How can be so calm about that? Kurapika's pissed." 

"How is Leorio?" 

"Asleep when I woke up, but healed and alive." Killua gave a small smile. "It's one thing hearing rumors, but to see him all wolfy in person is different." 

"Yeah, I know that. I think that's one of the hardest things to get over. Learning and hearing about something is different than doing or seeing it." 

"You being an animator surprises me. If anything I would have pegged you for a were of some kind, what with your demeanor and attitude." Killua studied me for a moment. "When I woke up in the morgue I had no idea where I was, or what was going on. I panicked and forced myself out of that drawer right as Illumi showed up. He being the one who turned me, had a sense of where I was pretty much at all times. Which is one of the reasons that I never sought you out, plus he had already threatened harm to you should I go to you." 

"Uh, he did that anyway. Asshole broke into the apartment the same night I went to the warehouse. His attack triggered my abilities, at least as far as anyone knows. No one's really sure why it was dormant, other than that it might have had something to do with the island. What about the other body he took that night?" 

"Another one he turned. She had tried to go and find her family, but somehow managed to get hit by a car." Killua's voice dripped in sarcasm. 

"You mean he controlled her mind and forced her?" 

"I actually think he was just calling her home, but she was just mindlessly following orders and her pathing didn't matter." 

"Like a zombie..." My stomach rolled and I had a momentary flashback of some of the zombies I'd raised. Pretty, functioning beings that looked and sounded human. But they were dead. No matter what they appeared to be, their souls were no longer home. 

"But when Illumi attacked me, I saw blue. Your power. How?" 

The door opened suddenly, and I spun around, which wasn't the best idea. It was like watching Kite walk towards us underwater. He leaned against the end of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest. His normally ever-present hat was missing, and his hair hung down in his face. 

I shifted to the side and sat cross legged. "Kite, Killua. Killua, Kite."

"We've spoken, but thank you." Kite pushed his hair out of his face. "Killua, what mark was it that you gave Gon?"

"One of four." 

"What does that mean exactly?" I asked. I hadn't really thought about it until now, remembering Illumi's comment about binding. 

"It means that after the fourth mark, you'd become my human servant. Which sounds worse than it is. We'd basically gain power after each mark, you'd be all but immortal and immune to both a weaker vampire's power, as well as any kind of contractible human disease. Can't save you from the common cold, which makes no sense to me. But if one of us dies, so does the other. The higher the mark, the tighter our lives are bound to each other.” 

"We have reason to believe that it was in fact the second mark. There was some kind of supernatural being in your blood already. From everything I've seen and heard, I think you marked him once before you were turned." Kite moved and sat on the bed. "I've done my digging into your lineage, and it wouldn't surprise me if that was exactly the case." 

"You're saying there's a vampire somewhere in my family tree?" 

"Or some form of undead. I think your brother was aware of that as well." Kite glanced between us for a moment. "I think the mark was opened for the first time that night, and Gon's power took hold of whatever power was there. I think had it been a strain of lycanthropy, even if he had never exhibited it before, he would have shifted. Odd, but I think Gon’s power was dormant for so long because it didn't know what it would become. It became what you needed in dire circumstance, and because of how close you two were prior, with the addition of the unknown mark, you became your greatest asset." Kite watched me and I just stared back. Killua laughed quietly and I glanced at him. 

"I can practically see the steam coming out your ears." He grinned. "You mentioned your abilities being dormant because of the island. In a nutshell, what he just told us is this: somewhere in my lineage there is an undead of some kind, whose bloodline gives me my shifting hands. Which means that sometime between the ages of twelve and twenty, I gave you the first mark." 

"Okay. I get that. And my aura was what, undeveloped because of the island?" 

"Not underdeveloped, free-forming. I think had you been aware, you would have been able to choose your power, but a life threatening scenario chose for you." Killua paused and continued when I nodded. "Both our abilities were dormant until forced hands. My turning gave you a full first mark, and that's how I was able to communicate with you." Killua tapped his chin. "So they weren't just random projections." 

"I don't think they would have worked the way you think had Gon not had the first mark." 

Killua only shrugged. "I've kinda been kept under lock and key for the last long while, so I'm still learning too." 

I couldn't help but laugh, and the glare I got for it only made it worse. 

"What's so damn funny?" 

"You. You're being humble and it's weird." 

"I already told you, I'm still trying to figure this all out too ya know." He snapped. I reined in my laughter and regarded him.

"What happens now?" 

"Well, the two you called that night are in the basement of the House. The body was never recovered, but interestingly enough, Hisoka showed up just shortly after I went back." 

"Really?" 

"Illumi had the hit on you, by the way, so you can..." Kite paused. 

"Nope. Hisoka enjoys the hunt more than the money, so I'm not in the clear on that yet." 

"I hope you didn't think Hisoka planned to help you?" Killua asked.

"No." 

"Good, because he wasn't. Had he gone in with you, the night would have turned out very differently." 

"We figured that." 

"What did he do when he showed up?" I interjected. 

"Torched the place. Kurapika had already checked all the coffins and rooms to get anyone else out, and he was the one that said the body was no longer there. But there is evidence to prove that Illumi did in fact, die. Several of his vampires will never rise again."

"So Hisoka just burned it down?" 

"With a damn flamethrower." 

"I kinda wish I had seen that." Killua said. 

"Me too." 

"My suggestion to you both? Go back to Wing. He may be able to help you both get a better grasp on the situation, as well as explain things better than I can. Leave the rest of the clean up to me and my team." Kite stood and so did I. He held his hand out to me. "We got our murderer, you saved your love. Nicely done." 

I took his hand and couldn't help but smile. "Thank you. For literally everything, Kite. This isn't goodbye, though." I held my hand down to Killua, and pulled him to my side so I could drape my arm over his shoulder. "We'll meet again someday, I know it." 

"I'm sure we will." He released my hand and gave me a small smile. "Be safe, you two." 

"You too, Kite." He nodded, turned, and left the room, the door closing quietly behind him. 

"That guy's scary intelligent." Killua commented. 

"He's just Kite." I shrugged, not really sure what else to say. "Eh, Killua?" 

He stepped away just enough to look me in eye. "I can't answer that question yet. I've watched your face, and can all but taste your emotions. And I don't blame you, not at all. You're so torn about what we've become." 

"You aren't wrong." I ran my fingers through my hair. "But learning all this seems to make it better somehow." 

"It gives you a more definite grasp of the reality, which can be both good and bad." 

"I still love you, Killua. I've gone through hell to find you. What would it all have been for if I let my own morals over what we are turn you away?" I grabbed him and hugged him tightly. "So you're supposedly some soulless monster who feeds on the blood of the living, but I know you. I can't imagine that you're some completely different being now." I put my hands on his shoulders and stepped back to look at him. His hands rested on my elbows.

"We'll figure this out, or cope with this, over time. So what if you "die" at sunrise, that's not really anything new. If I'm right, the biggest obstacle would be your liquid diet. I am actually pretty okay knowing that our powers are drawn from each other." And I meant that. He was here, with me, as alive as he could be. I had actually saved him, and everyone had made it out alive. 

"You can't be my only donor right now. If Leorio and Kurapika weren't pissed, I might have asked them, but..." 

"We should probably ask them anyway." 

"Yeah..." Killua shrugged and stepped closer to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "We'll figure it out, we tend to have that way about us." 

I held him close and buried my face in his hair, grinning. "Yeah. Yeah we do." 

As it turned out, Kurapika was needed again on a different job in the area, but Leorio was amiable enough to accompany back to Wing's home. Killua got his ass chewed for a good hour on the drive to the airport, but after that, it seemed like everything would be fine. We touched down with two hours of night left to spare, and the three of us were sitting around the dinner table in the hotel room with an hour till sunrise. 

"So, I'm crashing in the bathtub since there's no windows in there, and don't I wanna be in a closet."

"But you never really came out in the first place, so shouldn't it-" 

"Hey watch it, asshole. You never came out either.”

"True." I laughed. He punched my arm and the three of us laughed together.

“No need to if we all know it's true anyway.” Leorio added. We looked at him for a moment and our laughter echoed off the walls. 

We'd done our jobs. The trio was now a quartet again and we'd deal with the stepping stones as they came. What else could we do? I grabbed Killua in a headlock and fussed with his hair. We ended up rolling around the room, upending a coffee table and breaking a lamp. 

Leorio stood over our panting, giggling heap and glared at us, but he couldn't keep the grin off his face. 

"Nice to see some things never change. Least food bills will be less expensive." We laughed again, and Killua stole a kiss as we untangled ourselves. "Hey! Behave. Even with Gon's exaggerated healing, he shouldn’t be put through physical strain for at least another year." 

"Bullshit, a year." I gave Leorio a look and he looked away, his cheeks pink. Killua kissed my neck, and stood up. 

"It's too close to dawn anyway." He winked at me. Oh yeah, I had no doubt in my mind now: no matter what, we'd be alright. 

Interesting pair, the animator and the vampire. I liked the irony.

**Author's Note:**

> Question? Comments? Concerns? Let me know! You can follow me on Tumblr (mowmowsunshine) or Twitter (@rahrahchika) too! >=D
> 
> Let's dig a little deeper, shall we?


End file.
